As Kyrie Irving rumors continue to swirl in the public sphere, a side feud has continued to grow. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James aren’t the best of friends after a war of words in the media.
Smith reported earlier in the week that if James were to see Irving he would be “tempted to beat his a**.” James went to Twitter to deny such a report but now the report was out and was spreading like wildfire.
Naturally, Smith believed that James was in the wrong. He defended his reporting and James implied that he should get new sources.
Here is part of the transcription of the above video, courtesy of For The Win:
“That’s what was told to me. I did not speculate. I did not put that out there. That’s what was told to me … Now in defense of LeBron James, let’s walk this back a little bit because people have gotten besides themselves. LeBron James has always exercised class, LeBron James has always exercised professionalism … He’s not going to hit Kyrie. He’s not going to get in a fight with Kyrie. It wasn’t meant to be taken literally.”
Smith’s “nuclear” comment is interesting and only adds fuel to the fire. This wasn’t the only place however where Smith felt the need to talk about James.
He decided to go on ESPN’s Dan LeBetard Show to discuss his feelings on the subject.
“I’m not backing up,” said Smith. The reactions of everyone on the LeBetard Show were just as important as the rant itself. Smith is opinionated and isn’t going to back down, no matter how polarizing he comes across.
As Irving continues to be reportedly shopped, the noise around this feud likely won’t die down. If anything, this is the first chapter.
