Fox host and ex-NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe sparked an altercation with Tee Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night during their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
Sharpe appeared to exchange words with Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant while standing courtside at the game, just before chaos erupted. Brooks and Morant were on their way off the court to the locker rooms for halftime.
Nearly the entire Grizzlies bench, led by 6-foot-11 center Steven Adams, suddenly charged at Sharpe — which prompted security to jump in and try to hold them back.
Tee Morant, Ja’s father, then came at Sharpe from the side, and was also held back by security. Sharpe and the older Morant were then walked off the floor in different directions by security, but both returned to their seats for the second half.
ESPN video of Shannon and the Grizz + Tee Morant pic.twitter.com/wSbKc1jLz1
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) January 21, 2023
According to Sharpe, the cause of the altercation was incredibly menial.
Sharpe told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin the fight started after Sharpe told Brooks he “was too small to guard LeBron [James].”
Shannon Sharpe spent halftime in the tunnel with security before returning to his seat for the third quarter. He granted ESPN a brief interview explaining what happened with the Grizzlies on his way to his seat: pic.twitter.com/XZNw6sQhEG
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 21, 2023
It’s not exactly clear why Sharpe, who is technically a member of the media, started heckling Brooks in the first place. Also, Brooks could obviously guard James better than the 54-year-old retired tight end could.
Tee Morant told Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes after the altercation that both he and Sharpe “are good,” and that he has “nothing but love for him.” The two were seen making up during the third quarter.
Tee Morant and Shannon Sharpe just cleared the air during the third quarter intermission pic.twitter.com/a6Hrg8AsH8
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) January 21, 2023
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