Stephen A Smith Claims LeBron James Is Lying, Says He Would Have ‘Swung on Him’ if Touched

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith is again responding to Lakers star LeBron James in the continuing saga of the two’s March 5 confrontation. This time, Smith is claiming he would have taken a swing at James if the NBA player had laid hands on him.

The pair first came at odds when Smith was sitting courtside for the Lakers’ bout with the Knicks in Los Angeles. At one point, James was seen on video having intense words with the sports commentator.

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“That was LeBron James coming up to me — unexpectedly, I might add — to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about I say about his son,” Smith later said.

The ESPN talker also blasted James as “weak” for his response to Smith and said the confrontation was “bullshit.”

The feud does not appear to be cooling down, either. According to Fox News, Smith is now claiming that if James had tried to lay hands on him, he would have taken a swing at the NBA player.

James had ridiculed Smith for going on a “Taylor Swift tour run” to advertise their confrontation. He said he “missed the whole point” of what he was trying to warn Smith about. He said he wasn’t just defending his son but also his teammate.

Now, Smith is once again striking back, saying James is “full of it” and accusing him of lying by trying to downplay it all.

“I didn’t know he was going to roll up on me,” Smith said on his podcast. “I had no idea. But when he said what he had to say, I was in no position to give any kind of retort without making a scene. It was during the third quarter. It was fresh out of a timeout. It was him walking to the basketball court. It was on national television, the cameras were rolling, and I had done something. What do you all want me to do? Do you want me to act like this is a reincarnation of Chris Rock and Will Smith?”

Smith continued, saying, “And let me state for the record, that while we bring up that, let me assure you it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I would have gotten my a– kicked. Because if that man put his hands on me, I would’ve immediately swung on him. Immediately. That, I’m not going to tolerate. But I knew he wasn’t going to do something like that.”

Smith also says he was not “shitting” on Bronny.

And another,” Smith said. “He completely missed the whole point, the whole point. Never in my … never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport, criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job – to criticize or be in a position where, OK, a guy is not performing … that is all part of the game. When you take it and when you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household but protect the players.””

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