Stephen A. Smith. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Media disrespect of NBA players is getting out of hand

By Adam Taylor | Last updated Mar 8, 2025 6:31 PM ET

On Thursday, LeBron James confronted Stephen A. Smith following the Los Angeles Lakers overtime victory against the New York Knicks. The confrontation went viral on social media, forcing Smith to address what was said on Friday's episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show."

“He approached me during the game, and he said, ‘stop f’in with my son,'” Smith said. “I said, ‘what?’ … And I saw how furious he was. I said ‘we can talk about it later.’ He said ‘nah, f that, stop f’in with my son, that’s my son.’ I said ‘alright dawg, fine’ and he walked away, that’s all he said. I knew what he was talking about. I’ve spoken about this before…A few players were upset at me about that. I think one of those players was Draymond Green, who I haven’t spoken to since.”

James' frustration wasn't that Smith had criticized Bronny James. Rather, it was the way he went about portraying that criticism. Far too often, NBA media analysts take things into a gray area. Another example would be Colin Cowherd's recent criticism of Jayson Tatum, where he labelled the Boston Celtics star as "The Password" because "he's commonly forgotten."

"So, I think his nickname should be "The Password" because he's commonly forgotten," Cowherd said on Friday's episode of "The Herd."

At what point is criticism classed as a personal attack? Why can't it be kept to what a player is, or isn't doing on the court? Does the media really need to generate anger amongst fans to generate clicks? The NBA is the only league that seems to have this style of coverage. As such, it's no surprise when a player finds it necessary to confront a pundit in public.

There must be a middle ground. Players are human, so they're not exempt from becoming frustrated with what's said about them to a national audience. Unless things start to change, LeBron James won't be the last player to publicly confront a media member. In truth, it may take more players holding the media accountable for things to finally start to change.

There's a better way to cover the game. Hopefully, we start to see a pivot toward that change in the near future.

Adam Taylor

Adam Taylor is a sports journalist based out of the UK. Adam has been covering the NBA for nearly a decade with a core focus on the Boston Celtics. He currently holds bylines with Yardbarker, SB Nation and USA Today

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