Boston Celtics
“The season is over bro. You’re on Twitch trying to do what I do and me needing to step away. It makes no sense.”
Stephen A. Smith Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM
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On Monday, Stephen A. Smith responded to comments made about him by Celtics guard Jaylen Brown.
Brown had called Smith the “face of clickbait media” during an episode of his Twitch stream and called for the ESPN personality to retire.
Earlier this month, Smith told Brown to “be quiet” after the Celtics star said this season was his favorite hours after the Celtics were eliminated by the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
Smith responded to Brown’s comments during “First Take” on Monday.
“I wasn’t saying shut up and dribble or something like that, I was simply making the point that you just lost,” Smith said. “Nobody needs to hear from you now that this was your favorite season.”
“But, in the end, Jaylen Brown be careful what you wish for. You really want me to start reporting on that level? The locker room, how the organization might think about you, how the city may feel about you, how Jayson Tatum may or may not feel about you. Sneaker deals, endorsement deals, the list goes on and on.”
“The season is over bro. You’re on Twitch trying to do what I do and me needing to step away. It makes no sense.”
Brown has called out Smith before. He wore a t-shirt that with the words “State Your Source” on the front to the Celtics’ 2024 championship parade after anonymous sources had told Smith about issues with Brown’s marketability.
“There was no question that I was right,” Smith said. “The bottom line was that his own family came up to me in Dallas and thanked me for talking about him the way that I did because they recognized the fact that I was showing him respect, not disrespect.”
“He won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, he won the NBA Finals MVP, all this other stuff. Was he complaining then? No. But, here he is complaining now. Why? Because he’s pointing the finger in the wrong direction. Point it at yourself bro.”
The Celtics dropped Game 7 to the 76ers at TD Garden after Jayson Tatum was ruled out with knee stiffness. Brown scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss, but the Celtics fell to a lower-seeded team in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
“I’m not being disrespectful,” Smith said. “I’m simply pointing out that it is not wise after 24 hours of having your season over in the first round for you to be coming out talking about that’s your favorite season. It ain’t the smartest thing in the world to do.”
“I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, I was trying to sit up there and look out by letting you know this is not a good look, this is not wise. That’s all, and I would have respected Jaylen Brown more if he came at [Kendrick Perkins], [Jay Williams] had he come at ya’ll, come at everybody who was saying exactly what I was saying.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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