LeBron James’ in-studio interview on the Pat McAfee Show this week continues to ripple across ESPN.
James’ feud with Stephen A. Smith escalating to WWE-promo levels unsurprisingly grabbed most of the headlines in the immediate aftermath, but some of the other digs LeBron made in his chat with McAfee also seem to have landed hard.
In particular, James called out ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst, saying “This guy says he’s like my [expletive] best friend. These guys are just weird.”
On Friday, Windhorst had a chance to respond and it was as uncomfortable as you’d imagine.
Windhorst and James have a long, if not close, history. The two both went to high school at Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary and Windhorst covered James’ first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the local Cleveland Plain Dealer. When James took his talents to South Beach, Windhorst took his to ESPN, where he’s remained an NBA insider ever since. It’s hard not to argue Windhorst’s career took off because James’ did, too.
Because of this, he’s been seen (and promoted) as a LeBron whisperer of sorts. So it’s easy to see where James might get the ick in all of this. And to James’ point, Windhorst isn’t powerless to stop that kind of marketing.
The lesson here is that if you (or your employer) tie your career to one specific player, make sure you’re ready to deal with the ramifications of that player speaking against you.