Stephen A. Smith issues warning to Jaylen Brown on ESPN after viral, NSFW callout

The war between Stephen A. Smith and Jaylen Brown has now reached viral status. And Smith isn’t backing down from the fight.

On Sunday, Brown went on Twitch and used a NSFW rant to call out Smith for how he is using his ESPN platform for clickbait, rather than reporting. Smith’s initial rant that sparked the callout from Brown came after the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs and Brown claimed it was his favorite year of playing in the NBA.

After Brown’s callout went viral, Smith used his ESPN platform to call Brown out. He also issued a stern warning to the NBA star.

“He’s pointing the finger in the wrong direction,” Smith said. “Point it at yourself, bro. … I’m not going to get personal. I respect Jaylen Brown too much. I respect him, I respect his family, I respect his crew; I’m not gonna disrespect him. I’m not gonna go back and forth with it. I’ll elaborate more extensively with my own video and show you how it’s done, in case your team needs help. Show you how you’re supposed to show a video, and make sure that we understand that this is how it’s supposed to be done. And, in terms of me, you know what? You’ll be quiet, I get that. I wasn’t telling you, I wasn’t saying something like shut up and dribble or something like that. I was simply making the point; you just lost. Nobody needs to hear from you now that this was your favorite season.

“But in the end, Jaylen Brown, be careful what you wish for. You really want me to start reporting on that level? You understand? Locker room? How the organization might think about you? How the city may feel about you? How Jayson Tatum may or may not feel about you? Sneaker deals, endorsement deals, list goes on and on. The season is over, bro. You on Twitch trying to do what I do, and talking about me needing to step away. It makes no sense.”

Brown posted a career-high this season in points per game (28.7), rebounds per game (6.9) and assists per game (5.1). So it’s easy to see how it could be his favorite from that standpoint. However, an injury recovery for co-star Jayson Tatum and an early playoff exit for the team made Brown’s comments puzzling to most.

And, of course, Smith gets to use a national TV platform to make his points, while Brown had to use a Twitch stream in which his audio faced some issues. Smith was quick to make a joke about that at the start of his rant.

“Before I even get into it, could you do me a favor, please? Get your ass a studio,” Smith said. “You’re looking like you’re in some dungeon little room, or whatever. You making 54 million a year; you’re gonna make 57 next year, 61 the year after that, 67 the year after that. You’re in the midst of a $304 million contract. Get a studio with a director and a producer. Calling up clips of mine and the computer ain’t even working right, can’t even get the full sound up. Get that together, that’s number one. Stop being so damn cheap. You got the money, pay it, okay? For a better production.”