(Kirby Lee, Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

When two individuals at the top of their selected professions have a public disagreement, people want to understand the root cause of the issue. Stephen A Smith has come under fire for his conflicting and controversial views about LeBron James’ parenting skills towards his son, Bronny, playing in the NBA.

No one expected to see James visit Pat McAfee’s show to give his insight on how things got to this point. The NBA superstar gave specifics on what he said to Smith during the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the New York Knicks.

Smith tried to take the higher road, unfortunately that path wasn’t high enough to keep James from having his own Katt Williams viral moment on social media. The famed comedian aired out his differences with others in the entertainment industry and left everyone scrambling to explain or dispel what was said about them.

The fans seem to enjoy the free comedy show and are getting a good one with the saga between James and Smith.

Smith’s controversial takes have been called to the carpet because many athletes feel he embellishes too much, making the average fan believe what is being said is the gospel. The ESPN personality saying LeBron James didn’t attend Kobe Bryant’s funeral truly shows how unhinged this situation has become.

James was able to express what he has been feeling for 22 years with the uncalled-for takes concerning his play on the field and how he wants to be Michael Jordan so bad. Everyone understands that drama sells, but at what cost?

Are ESPN’s decision makers willing to send Stephen A. on a crash-out mission to get people to watch their segments that have more to do with a General Hospital story than sports themselves? Soon we will all laugh at what happened as a nightmare in sports history. Something that Smith can take away from this is never to talk about another man’s parenting skills if he doesn’t want the backlash.