Stephen A. Smith apologizes for claiming LeBron James skipped Kobe Bryant memorial service

Stephen A Smith admitted to making a mistake when talking about LeBron James and Kobe Bryant on ESPN’s First Take. On Thursday afternoon, Smith went to X/Twitter to apologize for claiming that James skipped Bryant’s memorial service in 2020.

“My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of First Take today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial,” Smith wrote. “I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It was not my main point. I retract NOTHING else that I said. Have a nice day!”

Stephen A Smith was talking about James after the NBA superstar appeared on The Pat McAfee Show this week. During the interview, LeBron James talked about his relationship with Kobe Bryant among other topics.

When Smith appeared on First Take Thursday morning, Smith alleged that James never went to Bryant’s memorial service after he died in a helicopter crash. “I suggest that he be happy with the things that I haven’t brought up,” Smith said, per Sports Illustrated. “I never brought up really and never really discussed why you were not at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service.”

Stephen A Smith and LeBron James continue to battle

The feud between Smith and James is at a new level after James’ interview. On Smith’s podcast, he brought up the recent confrontation he had with James and said that if the four-time NBA champion touched him, he would have taken a swing at James.

“It was during the third quarter, it was fresh out of a timeout, it was him walking to the basketball court, it was on national television, the cameras were rolling and had I done something, what do y’all want me to do? Do you want this to be a reincarnation of Chris Rock and Will Smith?” Stephen A Smith said, per Yahoo Sports.

“Let me state for the record that while we bring up that, let me assure you it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I would have gotten my ass kicked, because had that man put his hands on me, I would have immediately swung on him. Immediately. That, I’m not going to tolerate. But I knew he wasn’t going to do something like that.”