You never know what will happen at a Lakers game in Los Angeles. Courtside celebrities occur regularly and may joke (friendly or unfriendly) with players during games. It’s usually in the spirit of competition, but occasionally things can get out of hand.
That’s exactly what happened right after the halftime buzzer went off. lakers‘ 122-121 win memphis grizzlies Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end and Fox Sports’ Shannon Sharp had a heated exchange with multiple members of the Grizzlies at the Crypto.com Arena on Friday.
It all seemed to start when Memphis forward Dillon Brooks uttered the words to Sharpe on his way to the locker room. Grizzlies center Stephen Adams made his way toward Sharp as a swarm of players and guards began to form. Eventually, he was joined by Tee Morant, the father of Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, and when the two were separated, Sharp turned his attention to him.
According to ESPN’s Mark Jackson, Tee Morant “didn’t raise my blood pressure one bit – nothing but love and respect for Shannon Sharpe.”
“They didn’t want this smoke,” Sharpe told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin at halftime.It started with Dillon Brooks. He said he was too small to guard LeBron. He started approaching me and I said “You don’t want these problems”. Out of nowhere Ja spoke to me. He definitely didn’t want these issues. Then came Dad and he clearly didn’t want a problem.But I wanted whatever they had.Don’t be fooled by these fools. “
Coolheads seemed to prevail when Sharp took his seat in the second half. Sharpe and Tee Morant were then seen sharing a hug at the end of the third quarter.
Brooks reacted after the game, stating that Sharp should not have been allowed to remain in the arena after the altercation.
Lakers superstar LeBron James voiced his support for Sharp after the win.
“I run with Shannon 365 days a year, 366 days a leap year, 24/7. That’s my man,” James said. “I always have his back. He’s the best person to talk to. That’s for sure.”
Luckily, it didn’t turn into a physical altercation, but it was definitely a night to remember in Los Angeles.
