Shannon Sharpe challenges Grizzlies, Ja Morant's father in confrontation at Lakers game: 'I bet you won't'

Gilbert McGregor

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Shannon Sharpe challenges Grizzlies, Ja Morant's father in confrontation at Lakers game: 'I bet you won't' image

On Friday, the trash talk between the Lakers and Grizzlies took a twist that no one expected.

Last year, Memphis' chatter struck a nerve with LeBron James. This time around, the Grizzlies' trash talk reached Fox Sports personality (and LeBron superfan) Shannon Sharpe. The result? A halftime confrontation that involved Sharpe, Memphis' entire roster and Ja Morant's father, Tee.

It's a spectacle you have to see to believe.

ESPN's broadcast documented the sequence of events, which began with Sharpe standing from his courtside seat to exchange words with Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks.

Sharpe's apparent insistence for Brooks to step toward him at the halftime buzzer resulted in Steven Adams, Ja Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies team walking toward Sharpe before making their way to the locker room.

It was at that point that Tee Morant got involved, stepping to Sharpe before he was separated by a game official and Crypto.com Arena security. In a video captured from inside the arena, Sharpe can be heard telling the elder Morant, "I bet you (that) you won't," before being escorted off the floor.

Sharpe was not ejected from the arena but instead 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.'

The overarching theme of Sharpe's message is that he felt that Brooks and the Morants "didn't want this smoke." Sharpe failed to mention whether he felt Adams was open to escalating the situation.

Sharpe returned to his seat for the second half.

Tee Morant downplayed the incident in a statement to Turner Sports' Chris Haynes, saying he "has nothing but love" for Sharpe.

The two shared an embrace and friendly trash talk during and after the game.

Sharpe has previously been critical of this Grizzlies team on FS1's "Undisputed." He'll likely have plenty to say when the show is back on air Monday.

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.