Shannon Sharpe sparked an altercation with Dillon Brooks on Friday night at the Crypto.com Arena. (Harry How/Getty Images)
NFL Hall of Famer and Fox personality Shannon Sharpe appeared to spark an argument with the entire Memphis Grizzlies and Tee Morant team Friday night during their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena.
Sharpe sat on the sidelines when the altercation began just before half-time. Both Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks were seen chatting to Sharpe as they began walking from the pitch to the locker rooms. Before they reached the tunnel, however, things erupted.
Almost the entire Grizzlies bank, led by 6-foot-11 center Steven Adams, suddenly charged at Sharpe – prompting security to step in and try to hold them back.
Tee Morant, Ja’s father, then approached Sharpe and the larger group from the side and the two had to be separated by security guards. Sharpe and the elder Morant were then ushered off the ground in different directions by security but both returned to their seats for the second half.
The reason for the altercation was incredibly stupid, at least from Sharpe’s point of view.
Sharpe told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that the fight started after Sharpe told Brooks he was “too small to guard LeBron [James].”
“You didn’t want that smoke, Dave,” Sharpe told ESPN. “They talk and argue so much, and I don’t care about those arguments. It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron. He said, ‘F**k’ me. I said, ‘F**k you’ back. He came up to me and I said, ‘You don’t want these problems.’
“And then Ja came out of nowhere and spoke. He definitely didn’t want those problems. Then dad came and he obviously didn’t want any problems. But I wanted everything they had. Don’t let these fools fool you now.”
It’s not entirely clear why Sharpe, who is technically a member of the media, started harassing Brooks in the first place. And obviously, Brooks has a much better chance of protecting James than the 54-year-old retired tight end.
Tea Morant tells Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report after arguing that both he and Sharpe “are good” and that he has “nothing but love for him”. The two then equalized in the third quarter.
The story goes on
The Grizzlies led 53-49 at halftime.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.