Stephen A. Smith admitted that he and Lakers superstar LeBron James don’t like each other.
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ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James had a serious confrontation earlier in March, after LeBron confronted the analyst over criticism aimed at his son, Bronny James.
Now, several months later, Stephen A. has acknowledged that his relationship with LeBron remains strained.
"I have nothing to say about that. I don’t like him, and he don’t like me," Smith stated in an interview with the Rolling Stone.
"He’s one of the greatest players who’s ever lived. I’m going to show him that respect, and I’m going to cover him objectively. When he does great, I’m gonna applaud. When he doesn’t do great, I’m not gonna applaud."
Smith went on to explain his perspective on their confrontation:
"He hid behind his son [Bronny James], tried to make something out of nothing, as if I was dogging his son, which I was not. The real issue was we don’t like each other. And he used that as an excuse to confront me. I got it," he said.
While Smith doesn’t expect their relationship to improve, he insists it won’t affect his professional standards:
"We’re never gonna like each other," he said. "It’s not gonna stop me from doing my job. He’ll be treated just like any other player I cover. Nobody is going to get me to compromise my professional integrity. I don’t have to like you to be fair to you."
Smith also reflected on the broader reasons behind the rift:
"Over the course of his 22 years in this league, and the stories that I’ve had to cover about him, about his teams, decisions that he’s influenced his teams to make, trades, coaching firings, etc., etc. — all of which he’s played a role in. I’ve had to cover things that have not made him very happy, and I don’t care," he concluded.
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