We’ve got some beef between a sports broadcaster and an NBA player; what else is new?
On Tuesday this week, ESPN and First Take’s Stephen A. Smith claimed that “… even hard for [Lonzo Ball] to get up from the sitting position.”
“I've heard that it's even hard for him to get up from the sitting position.”
– @stephenasmith on Lonzo Ball’s injuries pic.twitter.com/MclWc3XJmJ
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 22, 2023
While we know that Ball has been dealing with a very tough knee injury for the past two years, it remains unclear just how bad it is off the court.
Lonzo Ball, however, responded quickly on Twitter with a hilarious video: “@stephenasmith, come to the actual source next time. I’m not hard to reach.”
@stephenasmith come to the actual source next time. I’m not hard to reach pic.twitter.com/88xyoB7LTf
— Lonzo Ball (@ZO2_) August 22, 2023
In the video, Ball is standing up and sitting down rapidly, though with his right knee in an awkward position, but clearly in little to no pain, directly refuting Stephen A. Smith’s claims.
Ball asks in the video, “Stephen A., please tell me who your sources are.” Ball ends the video with a bold claim, “I’m coming back, man, c’mon!”
Stephen A. had a quick response on Twitter. “Happy to do so, Lonzo. It’s nice to know you’d finally like me to reach out. Not a problem. You know how to reach me, too. I’m here.”
He also invited him onto his show and podcast.
Happy to do so, Lonzo. Nice to know you’d finally like me to reach out. Not a problem. You know how to reach me, too. I’m here. https://t.co/kOFbZI7ksX
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) August 22, 2023
You’d think it might end there, but on Wednesday, First Take ran a segment called Sitting Bull on Lonzo Ball’s response. And Stephen A. Smith went on a rant. He went through Lonzo’s injury history with the Bulls, then the number of games he’s missed in his entire career.
He asked if the video of him sitting and standing meant he was healthy enough to play in games, which the answer is obviously no.
Finally, he said if he was a Bulls fan, he would ask if he could play this season. The answer, unfortunately, is no. Stephen A also later hinted that his sources may be Lonzo Ball’s doctors.
We await to see if Lonzo will respond and continue the beef if Stephen A will cook it more, or if it will die down. It’s just another day of the soap opera NBA.
Photo: First Take/ESPN
