"People think because they pay money…you can say whatever you want" - How Shannon Sharpe's previous comments on courtside fans came back to bite him
Shannon Sharpe
© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The Memphis Grizzlies saw their 11-game win streak disrupted on Friday night by the Los Angeles Lakers thanks to a 122-121 loss, but surprisingly, that wasn't what everyone was talking about in the aftermath of the game. That's typically what happens when you get a courtside fan, who actually just so happens to be Shannon Sharpe, nearly starting a brawl with one of the teams playing.
The internet remains undefeated after digging up Sharpe's old comments on courtside fans
In case you live under a rock and somehow missed the incident, Sharpe incited a shouting match with the Grizzlies in their game against the Lakers for claiming that Dillon Brooks could not defend LeBron James. Brooks took exception to Sharpe's comments, and before you knew it, the entire Grizzlies team was trying to get to Sharpe. Even Ja Morant's dad, Tee Morant, tried to get to Sharpe as tensions boiled over.
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It was an unprecedented situation, and many fans have been roasting Sharpe for creating a ruckus right as halftime approached in this game. Had it been anyone other than Sharpe starting this incident, they likely would have been banned for life from the Crypto.com Arena. Instead, Sharpe was allowed to return, but his behavior took another turn for the worse after some old comments from him on courtside fans were dug up from the past.
"The fans somehow, and you know what these seats cost, sitting courtside? These are some well-to-do, they know right from wrong, but somehow, and it's been like this for a very long time, people think because they pay money…and the athletes are there to entertain you, you can say, you can do whatever, and it's well within my right because I paid $5,000 or I paid an exorbitant amount of money for this ticket." - Shannon Sharpe, Undisputed
Sharpe certainly will be eating his words after his latest actions
Sharpe's commentary is not incorrect here because he hits the nail on the head. We have seen countless instances where folks with courtside seats end up getting kicked out because they said or did something against the arena's rules. When people pay more for tickets, they seem to think they are entitled to privileges that others aren't, which creates issues that lead to them getting kicked out.
The problem is that Sharpe became the person he was complaining about in this clip from back in 2021. Sharpe seemed to think that because he was sitting courtside, or maybe even because he was Shannon Sharpe, he could start a shouting match with the Grizzlies. And the folks at Crypto.com Arena proved Sharpe was right in assuming he could do just that by allowing him to return to his seat for the third quarter.
Regardless of who you believe is in the wrong here, it's clear that Sharpe made a fool of himself even before these comments came to light. But now, he looks even worse after being found to despise people who acted the way he did last night. While Sharpe did return to his courtside seats after his temper tantrum, there's a decent chance he won't be allowed to sit courtside again for quite some time.
