The Boston Celtics star is engaged in a war of words with one of the most prominent media personalities of our time.
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is now engaged in a war of words with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
The reason? Frankly, it seems like the two just don't like being talked about negatively.
Let's dive in and simplify things:
These two already have a history
Back in May of 2024, Smith claimed on ESPN that Brown wasn't as marketable as he should be. Smith also said that Brown wasn't liked by all of his peers.
Brown was unhappy with those comments and when the Celtics won the NBA Finals in 2024, he wore a shirt that said "State your source," to the team's victory parade. He had already tweeted at Smith directly to "state your source" prior to that. He wanted to know who reportedly had told Smith that they didn't like him.
When Brown was left off the US Olympic team later that summer, Smith took that to mean that his assessment of Brown was correct all along.
And how about now?
After the season ended, Brown went on Twitch, as he has done all season, and had some comments about the officiating in the playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Joel Embiid.
Smith, as he is paid to do, was opinionated on Brown and said that he should "be quiet." He also wondered why Jayson Tatum never appeared on Brown's streams.
On another Twitch stream on Sunday, Brown took shots at Smith again, calling him the face of clickbait journalism. (via Awful Announcing).
“What type of journalism is this?” Brown asked. “Why are you doing journalism on me having guests on my stream? And this is a part of the reason why I started streaming. This is a part of the reason why people use the term ‘clown,’ and it synchronizes with someone like Stephen A. Smith. Because this is what you’re using your platform for. What are you talking about? This is a narrative that he’s creating. This isn’t journalism.”
Brown also said that he'd stop going on Twitch streams if Smith retired from the profession.
Then, Smith shot back at Brown again, basically telling him: Be careful what you wish for. If you want real journalism, you're not going to like it.
What's really at play here?
Two alpha males who don't want to be talked about in this way. It's really that simple.
After a decade in the league, I'm sure that Brown is tired of being talked about negatively, especially by unnamed sources and people that don't really know him but claim to.
Even still, being dissected comes with the territory and Brown probably needs to be better at ignoring the noise. The more he goes on Twitch and the more he talks, the more he opens himself up to conversation and criticism.
As for Smith, he makes a living talking - and opining - about others. Not everything he says is "nice" or "well received." If he expects the athletes he talks about to handle it professionally, he should handle it well too. It's really that simple.
Both men are at fault here for how they've handled things and both need to do a better job at not taking personal shots. They understand the professions they've chosen and the territory that comes with it.
Now they just need to live in those worlds, together.
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