LeBron James had a viral confrontation with Stephen A. Smith last week in defense of his son, and since then, a plethora of sports fans, pundits, and fellow players weighed in with their takes. Dwyane Wade reunited with Carmelo Anthony on the latter’s podcast, 7PM In Brooklyn, and discussed the situation. The two players had interesting perspectives on the matter, not only due to their roles as former NBA players who have been under scrutiny before, but also as fathers like LeBron.
The Miami Heat legend started off by disclosing he has a personal relationship with Stephen A. Smith, and his history with Lebron James has been well-documented throughout the years. “I told [Stephen] as a father, I’m walking up on you. We’ve never seen LeBron do that… he’s always been level-headed,” he replied to co-host Kazeem Famuyide. “To see Stephen A. over there, he couldn’t take it… First of all, that’s a sign of respect that LeBron did that to you.”
He explained how Smith’s platform is meaningful, which is what warranted a response from King James. “Your microphone is the loudest. Your platform is the biggest. And also, you’re a Black man. You got to understand where he approached you. Yes, the Skip Bayless’ of the world have said things about him for his entire career and he’s been above it. He stayed quiet… That meant something. That’s respect right there,” he reasoned.
Wade then acknowledged how the Bronny James being in the league brings a dynamic that is the first of its kind, so commentators are still navigating how to approach their critiques. However, he reiterated that he would have done the same thing as LeBron if it were him in the same situation regarding his son. “I’ve crashed out over [my kid] and I will continue to crash out over mine,” he said.
Melo chimed in by saying he thinks this situation was a result of tension that has been brewing over decades, so more context should be considered. “This has been a build up of 22 years. This ain’t got nothing to with Bronny, it’s just the fact that Bronny is a part of the conversation now and he also gotta protect his seed,” the 10-time NBA All-Star said. “There’s also energy with those two and those crews from over the years of just build-up… This is just Stephen A. doing what he’s supposed to do over the years, Bron doing what he doing over the years, and this is just what happens.”
“Some sh*t might get misconstrued, I might not like what you said, and I might now f**k with you. I think the energy is we’re dealing with two juggernauts in their respective fields,” Melo added.
During last Thursday’s (March 6) NBA exhibition match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, James approached Smith on the sidelines and confronted him about his comments about Bronny. Footage shows the NBA champion sternly telling the journalist, “Stop sh*tting on my son.”
The NBA analyst responded on his own platform the next day, saying, “What I would have said… ‘I never would have spoken negatively about your son, I was talking about you, LeBron James.’ I have nothing but good wishes for Bronny James. I hope that he flourishes into an NBA star… I sincerely hope he’s the exception — he’s a wonderful kid. He’s a rookie… he’ll be just fine. But I was talking about the position that he was put in by his dad.”
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