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Shannon Sharpe apologizes to Dillon Brooks, Ja Morant, Grizzlies after heated altercation at Lakers game

Fox Sports co-host apologized for telling Brooks he was 'too small' to guard LeBron James

Liz Roscher
Staff writer
·3 min read
553

Shannon Sharpe, a Fox Sports personality and Pro Football Hall of Famer, apologized for his role in an altercation that took place Friday night when the Memphis Grizzlies faced the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Sharpe, who heckled Dillon Brooks and had words with Ja Morant while at the game, used several minutes on "Undisputed" Monday morning to apologize for everything he did. He also apologized individually to Brooks, Morant, fans, both teams, his stylist and even LeBron James.

"I've preached for 6 1/2 years responsibility and accountability and I take full responsibility for what transpired," Sharpe said. "It does not matter what Dillon Brooks said or how many times he said it, me being the responsible person, me having the platform that I have and having so many people look up to me, I was wrong. I should have lowered the temperature in the arena. Instead, I turned the temperature up and I let it get out of hand."

Sharpe heckles Brooks, gets into fight with Tee Morant

The whole thing went down on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Sharpe, who was sitting courtside, had words with Brooks and Morant just before halftime. When the team was in the process of walking into the tunnel to the locker room, they all charged at Sharpe.

And because that wasn't enough, then Tee Morant, Ja's father, came into the fray. He walked up to Sharpe and the two of them quickly had to be separated by security, who was already busy holding back the Grizzlies and their resident giant, Steven Adams, from getting to Sharpe. It was a bizarre scene.

Sharpe told ESPN later on Friday night that he'd been heckling Brooks, saying that he was too little to guard James.

“They didn’t want this smoke, Dave,” Sharpe told ESPN. “They do all that talking and jockeying and I ain’t about that jockeying. It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron. He said, ‘F***’ me. I said, ‘F*** you’ back. He started to come at me and I said, ‘You don’t want these problems.’

“And then Ja came out of nowhere talking. He definitely didn’t want these problems. Then the dad came and he obviously didn’t want no problems. But I wanted anything they had. Don’t let these fools fool you now.”

When you, a 54-year-old Pro Football Hall of Famer, start explaining why you heckled a professional basketball player by saying "they didn't want that smoke," it's probably time for you to take a step back and examine things, no?

That appears to be what Sharpe did. He took responsibility for what he did, admitted he didn't act the way an adult (and media member) should act, and apologized for everything very specifically.

As for Sharpe and Tee Morant, the two of them mended fences during the third quarter.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 20: Shannon Sharpe is restrained by security after verbal altercation with Tee Morant, father of Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies, during the halftime against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on January 20, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Shannon Sharpe apologized for sparking an altercation at the Grizzlies-Lakers game on Friday night. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)