LeBron James is facing criticism for recent comments on a YouTube show toward Memphis and the Grizzlies, the latest prominent figure to question whether the city should have an NBA franchise in recent years.<\/p>\n
In the interview with Bob Does Sports, James joked that a star athlete his age would not be staying at the Hyatt \u201cin Memphis on a f*cking random-a** Thursday<\/a>.\u201d James added that NBA stars are largely in agreement that the team needs to move, listing Nashville as a logical in-state relocation destination.<\/p>\n As the pushback to James\u2019 strange comments gained steam online, his foe Stephen A Smith took to multiple platforms on Friday to add to the criticism against James.<\/p>\n While Smith weighing in on a story that paints James in a negative light should come as no surprise after their prolonged public feud last year, the unusual element of Smith\u2019s decision in this case was that he had levied a very similar criticism against Memphis just last summer.<\/p>\n Smith stated that NBA players \u201cdon\u2019t feel like it\u2019s the safest environment,\u201d and insisted that local authorities \u201cclean some of that stuff up.\u201d The take drew the ire of Grizzlies star Ja Morant<\/a> as well as the city\u2019s mayor<\/a>, while being co-opted by local far-right politicians<\/a> as evidence of the city\u2019s crime problem.<\/p>\n But on his SiriusXM radio show and on\u00a0First Take, Smith drew a distinction between his charges against the city and James\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I spoke, I spoke about what this city needs in order to look out for the vast majority of its citizens who happen to be Black that are living there. I did it right here, on the mic with the cameras rolling. Dead serious as hell,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I ain\u2019t trying to let nobody off the hook on that. I wasn\u2019t dressed in shorts, lolligagging on the golf course with a bunch of peeps that don\u2019t look anything like the folks that reside in Memphis. That\u2019s where it was foul.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Smith then acknowledged James\u2019 work in the community in Cleveland and said some of James\u2019 comments were in fact \u201cwise.\u201d But Smith believes that being critical of the city in a digital show hosted by white content creators was insensitive.<\/p>\n \u201cOptics matter. Appearances matter,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd words coming out of LeBron James\u2019 mouth about such a sensitive subject required a little bit more seriousness to the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n The status of Memphis as an NBA city has been debated again recently as the league explores expansion. Adding two new teams in Seattle and Las Vegas, which seems to be the plan for now, could mean that teams in the middle of the country change to the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n The news has led some to argue for other cities to receive expansion teams, including Stephen A. Smith. Last month on\u00a0First Take, Smith, like James, suggested Nashville should get a team<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, Smith made a point of noting that Memphis should not lose its team in order for the popular bachelorette trip destination to get one.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want that to happen to that city,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n