Shannon Sharpe issues apology to Lakers' LeBron James, Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks: 'I was wrong'

Gilbert McGregor

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Shannon Sharpe issues apology to Lakers' LeBron James, Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks: 'I was wrong' image

Following Shannon Sharpe's confrontation with the Grizzlies at a Lakers game over the weekend, all eyes shifted to FS1's "Undisputed" to see how the Hall of Fame tight end would address the situation alongside Skip Bayless.

At the end of the show's first segment, Sharpe took the time out to apologize to all parties involved.

"As you probably have heard or have seen, Friday night at the Lakers game — I want to apologize for my behavior," Sharpe began.

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"I've preached for the last six and a half years responsibility and accountability and I take full responsibility for what transpired. 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 but instead, I turned the temperature up and I let it get out of hand."

After apologizing for his actions, Sharpe issued apologies to the Lakers organization, including Jeanie Buss and the Buss family and apologized to the fans in attendance. He then apologized to the Grizzlies organization and directly addressed Brooks.

"I want to apologize to Dillon Brooks," Sharpe said. "He is a fierce competitor and seeing him up close, I get a sense of why he is what he is and how he's wired the way he's wired. I apologize. I wish you the best of luck the rest of the season and continued success."

As a well-documented fan and friend, Sharpe also apologized to LeBron James, who was asked about the situation postgame.

"I also want to apologize to LeBron James, because y'all know how I feel about him and he's supported me through thick and thin," Sharpe said of James. "I'm sorry that I put you in this situation that you had to support me in something like this."

What did Shannon Sharpe say to Dillon Brooks?

To recap the incident, it began when Sharpe stood from his courtside seat to engage in a back-and-forth with Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks.

Sharpe's invitation for Brooks to continue the trash talk face-to-face prompted Steven Adams, Ja Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies roster to walk toward his courtside seat at the halftime buzzer. And as Grizzlies players were held back by security, Morant's father, Tee Morant, got involved and stepped toward Sharpe.

As Sharpe was not ejected, he spent halftime in an arena tunnel where he offered a brief statement to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. In it, Sharpe explained that "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.'

While security and a game official needed to retrain Sharpe and the elder Morant from one another, the two had put it behind them by the end of the game.

And though Tee Morant and Sharpe clearly made amends, Ja Morant declined to comment while Brooks called the Hall of Famer a "blogger."

 Sharpe's apology should mark the end of the weekend-long saga... for now!

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.