Stephen A. Smith (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Roomies, if you thought Stephen A. Smith wasn’t going to speak about the incident that occurred last night with LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart on “First Take,” think again. Things got tense on the basketball court when an altercation occurred due to LeBron swinging his elbow and hitting the Detroit Pistons player hard enough to make him bleed. Today, Stephen sat with his co-host to talk about the consequences he believes LeBron deserves.
Stephen spoke candidly about the event and mentioned that LeBron is a big player who knows how much space he takes up on the court. In addition, he said that the four-time NBA champion knew exactly what he was doing by throwing his elbow. Stephen made it clear he doesn’t want to see LeBron get special treatment. As the conversation continued, Stephen got straight to the point.
“He’s gotta be suspended,” he said. “I totally agree with Anthony Davis from the standpoint he does not have a reputation as a dirty player. That’s not who LeBron James is. But that doesn’t mean that the play wasn’t dirty. You swung your elbow. And because you swung your elbow and it caused that kind of damage, that’s what sparked the incident.” Stephen’s co-host Ryan Clark also agreed with him that LeBron is at fault, especially given his status as one of the best basketball players in the NBA.
LeBron wasn’t the only one who got the heat from Stephen. He also spoke on Isaiah, stating that although he doesn’t know much about the player, he respects his talent. “When he initially went up to LeBron James, he didn’t go up like that. But how he acted thereafter, I think he deserves to be suspended for multiple games. You cannot; you cannot act like that,” he explained. “He ran over numerous players, numerous coaches. I’m not talking about having to restrain him. He bulldozed over several dudes, including coaches who are obviously older men. He could have done harm to his teammates. We know he didn’t intend to do that.”
It looks like the NBA took Stephen’s words into consideration because shortly after his comments, ESPN reported that both LeBron and Isaiah have been suspended following the incident. LeBron is suspended from one game and Isaiah for two. Roomies, do you think this suspension is fair?
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