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Stephen A Smith is a Hero For Standing Up Against Lonzo Ball

stephen a smith lonzo ball

Stephen A. Smith is our last great, fearless journalist standing up against professional athletes pushing false narratives and lying to fans. Currently, he’s in a war against Lonzo Ball over the reporting of his knee injury.

Lonzo Ball hasn’t played a basketball game since January 14th, 2022.

His knee basically exploded and he’s been in and out of surgeries for over a year now. Ball was a crucial member of a re-vamped Chicago Bulls roster where Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Lonzo had a 4-guard lineup that was, for whatever reason, unstoppable.

But Lonzo’s leg doesn’t work and earlier this month, the Chicago Bulls announced Lonzo would be out for the entire 2023-24 NBA season.

Here is Lonzo himself telling Trae Young he will miss the season:

Shout out to the sickos who listen to Trae Young and his little lisp in their ears for hours at a time in what I can only imagine is the most boring podcast on Earth.

Anyway, Stephen A. Smith being the legendary and brave journalist he is, went on First Take and talked about the Lonzo news.

“I am not a doctor. I am incredibly, incredibly sad for Lonzo. I knew that he wasn’t De’Aaron Fox, the only fight that Magic Johnson and I ever got into because I begged him to draft De’Aaron Fox, because I saw what De’Aaron Fox did to him in the NCAA tournament, when he dropped 38 on him and stuff like that, but Lonzo has proven to be a really good NBA player, somebody who can run the point, plays both sides of the ball, can run an offense and it’s really sad what happened to him.

“Those are doctors, something went wrong in terms of these procedures that he has had. I don’t think he’ll ever be the same, based off of what we’re seeing and hearing and reading about. I’ve heard that it’s even hard for him to get up from the sitting position. You can’t play 50, 60, 70 games a year and the postseason. It’s sad because with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, if they had a guy like Lonzo Ball healthy, the Chicago Bulls would be even better than what we’ve seen, so I’m really, really sad for him. I just hope that he ultimately is blessed enough to get his health back.”

So let’s quickly recap what happened here before we move on:

  • The Bulls and Lonzo announced he will miss another full season.
  • Stephen A. heard that and his first thought was to say “I always thought De’Aaron Fox was better”.
  • He brought up a private conversation he had with Magic Johnson to brag about knowing Magic and also how much more he knows about basketball than one of the greatest basketball players ever.
  • He added some random scuttlebutt and rumor he heard about Lonzo not being able to get out of a chair.
  • And then he ends it by reiterating how sad he is for the man he just gossiped about.

We need this level of journalism these days.

Unfortunately, Lonzo didn’t enjoy Stephen A. Smith going in front of his audience of millions and telling everyone that he was so injured he couldn’t stand out of a chair so he made a video challenging his claim.

Lonzo was pretty lighthearted in the video saying “And I actually like you man. I don’t even know you like that, but I like you. I’m coming back, man, come on.”

All good fun.

Except Stephen A. Smith will not and should not let someone ever question the validity of his expert reporting so naturally, he went back on First Take to shit on Lonzo.

 

Stephen A decided to yell about how much his own knee hurts before yelling about Lonzo about not being healthy enough to play even though Lonzo never once said he was healthy enough to play and Lonzo’s video was sort of just a joke.

But you don’t joke with Stephen A. Smith. How dare you question him.

In fact, Stephen A was so angry about being called out for potentially lying about Lonzo’s ability to stand up that he went on his podcast the same night to continue setting the story straight.

Get his ass, Stephen.

Let the world know you have real sources with real information definitely, for sure, without a doubt written on those blank pieces of paper around you. Do not let anyone tell you you make up lies in order to win fake arguments on a fake debate show built around making you look like a star.

Now, some people could make the argument Stephen A. Smith is using his massive platform to destroy the career of a man battling with life-altering injuries and using information that was most likely given to him by a front office to manipulate the narrative in case they choose to cut ties with Lonzo.

See, the Bulls would be able to use the story of Lonzo unable to stand out of a chair as a way to get out of paying Lonzo and not having to deal with the fans or media treating them like assholes for it because everyone would be under the impression that Lonzo is so devastatingly injured that Chicago had no choice but to cut him.

If you look at Stephen A’s career, his sources are often from the executives and used against the players because front offices understand Stephen A is such a clout-chasing, power-hungry dork who will blurt out whatever is told to him in order to feel important and relevant without ever taking a step back and asking himself why it is he’s even receiving this information in the first place.

He’s always been the guy telling players to pull up their pants and follow the rules and shut up and dribble. He has made millions of dollars by going on TV and using his influence to ruin players’ reputations and take money out of their pockets. His relationship and willingness to cozy up to more powerful people is what has made Stephen A the face of ESPN. He will proudly be the mouthpiece of an organization using him to devalue one of their players. He genuinely gets giddy when he gets the chance to defame someone.

And Stephen A gets away with it because he looks like the players and ends every segment saying “my brotha” so he gives off the impression he’s one of us. He goes on JJ Redick and Paul George’s podcasts to brag about himself and talk about his early days as a journalist as a way to re-establish his credibility to an audience that has given up on him when in reality, he will proudly throw any player in front of a moving train if a team president texted him to do it.

And that’s an argument someone could make.

Not me, though.

I believe everything Stephen A. Smith says even if/when he seems to be lying or exaggerating or even forgetting players’ names. That’s just how the best journalists in the world move and y’all wouldn’t get it.

Nothing but respect for the bravest man and the main character of sports: Stevie Smith.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Written by thelesterlee

Creator of Deadseriousness. Diehard Knicks, Yankees and Giants fan who wants to create a sports and pop culture space that isn't the same copy and pasted AI content you see everywhere else.

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