Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James won’t be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon. The two high-profile figures have been embroiled in a very public feud for months, beginning with a viral video of James confronting Smith during a Lakers timeout. Smith didn’t hold back in response the next day on First Take, openly questioning if James was “butt hurt” over his past commentaries about the NBA superstar.
What heightened the matter was James’ one-hour appearance on The Pat McAfee Show back in March following First Take on ESPN. The four-time NBA champion said that he felt Smith’s criticisms during a January episode of First Take were personal and that it was his job to “protect his damn household, but also the players.”
The summer offered a brief cooling-off period. But Smith reignited the conflict during a recent appearance on Gil’s Arena, hosted by former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas. When asked about his relationship with James, Smith flatly replied, “There is no relationship. He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him.” He went on to suggest that efforts had been made to harm his reputation during the dispute. That raises the question: Why is Smith, one of sports media’s biggest stars, fueling the drama instead of letting it go? And is he violating the cardinal rule of sports media — don’t make it personal?
First and foremost, the job of Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take is to present fact-based opinion for public consumption and debate. Earlier this year, I called him the greatest entertainer in media today. The man knows his material, studies his craft, and has developed a unique personality with precise execution of his delivery.
There’s a reason why SiriusXM, ESPN, and more are willing to work partnerships and sign contracts respectively with Smith year after year. The man attracts eyeballs, clicks, and downloads. Business is good when Stephen A. Smith is involved.
Smith Continues To Throw Wood on the Fire
What he has lacked in this dispute with James is balance and the understanding that he’s the one fueling the personal side of the conflict time after time. In this feud with James, Smith has lost balance. He’s turned the professional into the personal.
Sports media has long operated on a simple code: critique the performance, not the person. With the rise of social media and the constant demand for hot takes, that line has blurred. Smith, more than anyone, has embraced that environment — but at a cost.
Can an athlete take certain criticism personally? Sure.
To be fair, James isn’t blameless. He’s taken shots of his own, from social media jabs to the on-court confrontation and his McAfee appearance. But unlike Smith, James has largely stepped away from escalating the feud in recent months.
Sports media also has a way of handling situations: showing up, answering the phone, or making a call. That’s being professional and how you prevent things from becoming a powder keg ready for the fuse to be lit.
This is where Smith is failing to meet the standard of not making things personal.
“People can get into all kinds of components that come with it, and all that other stuff. I have nothing to say, I’m a professional,” he said on Gil’s Arena Friday. “I represent ESPN, and now represent SiriusXM. Most importantly I represent myself. I’m never going to denigrate any employer, partner, or myself by getting into anything excessively unnecessary when it comes to him [LeBron James] or anyone else. I’m going to do my job.”
That’s a great quote by Smith. A strong statement — but one he contradicted almost immediately.
“I’m going to cover the game of basketball. If I never, ever speak to him again in life, that will be okay. I’m good with it.”
Then he went deeper, again:
“All I would say is people don’t know the things that have happened behind the scenes,” Smith said. “Things that have been said, who they’ve been said to. The kind of things that have been engaged in in an effort to hurt me, along with contemporaries and others. There’s a lot of s**t that I know that I don’t say.”
Looking at that sequence, Smith did exactly what he stated two sentences prior he wouldn’t do. Would a claim of “things happening behind the scenes” and “things that have been engaged in an effort to hurt me” be considered “getting into anything excessively unnecessary” with LeBron James?
The act of revealing these claims is exactly that—throwing more wood on the fire to create narrative and keep focus on something off the court.
Always the entertainer. That’s not professionalism. That’s entertainment.
Smith is, without question, one of the most influential voices in sports media. He’s also one of its greatest entertainers. But his ongoing feud with James is more theater than journalism — and every time he teases vague claims of “behind the scenes” efforts to undermine him, he’s not analyzing the game, he’s creating a soap opera around it.
Can We Get Back to Basketball
This season could be LeBron James’ last in the NBA. He’s an absolute first-year Hall of Fame player with a résumé that stacks up among the greatest of all time. Stephen A. Smith calls him the second-best player in the history of the game, because he admires the on-the-court athlete for his résumé and impact on the game.
There will be moments this season when the Lakers and LeBron James will be discussed ad nauseam by Smith and his rotating cast of characters on First Take. Some would even consider the amount of conversation about the Lakers on the program “excessively unnecessary.”
My hope for the new season is that Smith leans more into the on-the-court discussion without the jabs he continues to aim at James’ off-the-court persona.
Can we go a day, week, or month without Smith hinting at the “man” that he considers LeBron James to be? The “man” who he claims has tried engaging in efforts to hurt him and his contemporaries? The “man” who Smith claims he would never truly reveal, but just tease those in the media enough to create plot and a conception of who James is?
That would be professional.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
