Speaking on his podcast (the Draymond Green Show), 4x champion Draymond Green finally spoke up on the viral incident between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith. As expected, Draymond defended LeBron and went off on the ESPN star for trying to criticize him as a father.
“A lot of problems that guys have with media is, to call something that that man did is bullsh*t and weak. Those are words where, when we grew up, you get your hands put on you. I think the problem is that you go on there and say ‘Oh, that’s weak.’ Calling another man weak, that’s just not basketball, which is actually what LeBron was saying in the first place – like let’s keep it basketball. Because calling a man weak, that’s not basketball and you’re paid to talk about basketball.”
After his confrontation, Stephen A. made an appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena” podcast, where he cited LeBron’s actions as ‘weak’ and ‘some bullsh*t.’ Smith wasn’t actually calling LeBron weak, only his decision to approach him at the game, but Draymond still made the case that Stephen A. is the one who looks weak.
“You call LeBron weak for stepping to you but you’re taking shots at him as a father on TV, behind a camera. Most would say that’s weak. You’re paid to analyze and debate on the show.”
The whole controversy started when Stephen A. Smith called out LeBron “as a father” on national TV. On his morning show, First Take, he pleaded with LeBron to stop “exposing” his son and setting him up to fail in the NBA. Green condemned those words and went out to point out how Smith crossed the line.
“You go on national TV calling out this black father who has raised another successful black young man and you’re going to call him out as a father because his son plays in the NBA? That’s a** backward. You are on national TV condemning a black man as a father because his son his playing in the NBA? Like, how does that even make sense? If you wanna talk about him as a basketball player, then talk about him as a basketball player.”
LeBron James has never been intolerant to criticism before, but he felt he had to step in when he heard Smith start to speak on his fatherhood. As patient as LeBron is, he’s only going to tolerate so much and Stephen A. Smith found out the hard way how far he’s willing to go.
As for Draymond Green, we know that he and Smith are no longer on speaking terms. Despite both men being colleagues at ESPN (Draymond has made appearances on NBA Today and NBA Countdown), they couldn’t be farther apart on this issue.
Not only does Draymond think LeBron was justified in confronting Smith, but he also believes that LeBron did right by Bronny to get him into the league and set him up for a prosperous future.
Whether or not Bronny develops into an NBA-level player, you can’t blame LeBron for giving him the ultimate opportunity of allowing him to play out his dream of being in the league on the same team as his dad.
Since this is the first father-son duo we’ve ever seen in the NBA, nobody was sure what to expect. While there is no doubt that LeBron used his status to help elevate his son, Bronny earned his way and he’s making a stronger case by the day that he belongs in a Lakers jersey.
LeBron can’t protect Bronny from everything anymore but he can surely come to his defense when he feels that a critic has crossed the line.
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