LeBron James Reacts To Shannon Sharpe-Tee Morant Incident
LeBron James said he still respects media personality Shannon Sharpe even after he nearly got into an altercation with Ja Morant's father during the Los Angeles Lakers-Memphis Grizzlies game Friday.
“I ride with Shannon 365 days — 366 on a leap year — 24/7," James said. "So that’s my guy. I always got his back. And he’s got mine. He can talk with the best of them, for sure.”
Sharpe got into a verbal altercation with the Grizzlies and Morant's father, Tee.
The argument started courtside when Sharpe and Dillon Brooks exchanged words but then tensions rose when center Steven Adams and the entire Grizzlies team charged at Sharpe, quickly prompting Tee Morant to get involved. The situation got so tense security and staff had to break everyone apart.
After the game, Sharpe discussed the incident with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“They didn’t want this smoke, Dave,” Sharpe told ESPN. “They do all that talking and jockeying and I ain’t about that jockeying. It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron. He said, ‘F***’ me. I said, ‘F*** you’ back. He started to come at me and I said, ‘You don’t want these problems.’
Sharpe is a longtime supporter and friend of James, who played with the Miami Heat from 2010-14.
“And then Ja came out of nowhere talking," Sharpe said. "He definitely didn’t want these problems. Then the dad came and he obviously didn’t want no problems. But I wanted anything they had. Don’t let these fools fool you now.”
Tee Morant regularly attends Grizzlies games in support of his son, even appearing in videos which have gone viral on social media. In the third quarter, Tee Morant approached Sharpe to settle the drama. They shook hands and laughed it off. Morant told Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes him and Sharpe “are good” and he has “nothing but love for him”.
The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 122-121, ending an 11-game win streak.
MORE HEAT-RELATED STORIES
Takeaways from the Heat's loss against Mavericks. CLICK HERE
How Miami Heat Twitter reacted to loss against Mavericks. CLICK HERE
Kyle Lowry endorses Bam Adebayo for All-Star Game. CLICK HERE
For a look at some of the latest Heat apparel. CLICK HERE
If you wanna bet on any games at @PrizePicks or PrizePicks.com, use our link and code. They will match your first bet for up to $100. Here's the code: PR-R1YOFY6Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.
TWITTER: @ShandelRich
Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here
For any Heat or NBA questions, please email [email protected]
