"They do all that talking and jockeying and I ain't about that jockeying" - Shannon Sharpe opens about his altercation with the Memphis Grizzlies
Shannon Sharpe
© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
NFL Hall of Famer and current Fox Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe attended the Los Angeles Lakers game on Friday and caused a stir while he was at it.
In the middle of the game, Sharpe was seen arguing with the Memphis Grizzlies players and Tee Morant (father of Ja Morant), who had to be separated during halftime. According to Sharpe, it all started because he and Dillon Brooks argued about defending LeBron James.
"They didn't want this smoke, Dave," Sharpe told ESPN's Dace McMenamin. "They do all that talking and jockeying, and I ain't about that jockeying. It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron. He said, 'F***' me. I said, 'F*** you' back. He started to come at me, and I said, 'You don't want these problems.'"
"And then Ja came out of nowhere talking. He definitely didn't want these problems. Then the dad came, and he obviously didn't want any problems. But I wanted anything they had. Don't let these fools fool you now," Sharpe added.
Cool heads eventually prevailed
After a short while, Sharpe and Morant's father were seen making amends and squashing their beef. Sharpe's team, the Lakers, got the last laugh after the game as they overcame a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Grizzlies in the game's dying minutes.
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Sharpe, who for the longest time has supported James on and off air throughout his career, was seen active on the sidelines as well as celebrating the Lakers' 21st victory of the season after the game.
James and Brooks speak up after the game
When James and Brooks were individually asked postgame about the commotion between Sharpe and the Grizzlies, both players couldn't have answered the question any more differently.
Brooks, who fouled out of the game in the 4th quarter, said that Sharpe shouldn't have been allowed back in the game in the first place and even categorized him as a blogger.
"I ain't talking about that. You can ask him. He's the blogger or whatever he is. I don't really care about all that. Next question," Brooks said. "He should have never come back in the game. But this is L.A."
As for James, who finished the game with 23 points and 9 rebounds, he had no problem with what went down between Sharpe and the Grizzlies on Friday night. The King even said that he's got Sharpe's back, and the analyst had every right to go bicker with whoever was on the court.
"I ride with Shannon 365 days — 366 on a leap year — 24/7. So that's my guy. I always got his back. And he's got mine. He can talk with the best of them, for sure," James said.
There was much drama in Los Angeles, not just on the court but outside of it. But the night's biggest highlight goes to the Lakers, who defeated the second-seeded team in the Western Conference and snapped the 11-game winning streak.
