ESPN Personality Sick Of Stephen A. Smith, LeBron James Beef
03/30/2025 05:05 PM
As the ongoing feud between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith continues, at least one of his ESPN colleagues has already grown tired of it.
In a recent interview with OutKick.com, longtime "Pardon the Interruption" host Michael Wilbon addressed the back-and-forth between the Lakers superstar and the "First Take" personality — and he doesn't particularly care for it.
While Wilbon argued that "no one has been better with the media" than LeBron, he also feels that the all-time leading scorer's recent attacks on Smith and Brian Windhorst "are beneath him."
"This whole LeBron and Stephen A. stuff, I just can't. Enough. Stop it," he said. "I'm too old for it. I am too old to consume it. But Windhorst didn't deserve it."
"Let me be clear: our business is a piece of [expletive] a lot of days," Wilbon continued. "There is nobody enforcing standards or having tough conversations. This is what happens when you no longer have functioning newsrooms, because everyone is working from hotel rooms, from their bedrooms, and maybe even from their beds. Our business is just [expletive] some days. It just is."
The former Washington Post columnist went on to address the wider conversation about the media's treatment of today's NBA players. Saying, they're simply wrong when it comes to them being treated "unfairly" or different than past generations.
"I have heard this from players like Kevin Durant lately. They say the previous generation of players were not criticized like they are. [Expletive] that," Wilbon said. "They better wake the [expletive] up."
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
"… I have said this to these players privately and will say it publicly: everyone gets criticized. They are just too young to know what the hell they are talking about. But maybe I'm just old."
After nearly four decades in the business, Wilbon has pretty much seen it all. And he's never minced words when it comes to his feelings about athletes or the behavior of those who cover the game along with him.
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