“Just Because He’s Accomplished A Lot, He’s Allowed To Sexually Assault Children?”: NBA Fans Question Stephen A. Smith Defending Michael Jordan’s Viral Actions During Daytona 500
NBA fans are coming out in hordes to call out Stephen A. Smith for choosing to defend Michael Jordan after the whole incident with Tyler Reddick’s kid. After Reddick won the Dayton 500, a viral clip showed MJ playing with the racer’s child, pinching his bottom a number of times.
Since then, MJ has been under fire from many who feel that the legend was behaving inappropriately with the child. At the same time, several people like Smith have felt that the retired baller did not do anything wrong, something for which the analyst has received plenty of criticism in the last 24 hours.
Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN First Take set at the CFP Fan Central at the George World Congress Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. NBA Fans
“It’s a kid that Michael Jordan loves like it’s his own kid. It’s a kid that he’s known for years. That’s the son of a driver that just won the Daytona 500. It’s also a kid that Michael Jordan knows very, very well.If you see (other) footage, if you see pictures, he’s holding the kid in his arms, he’s walking around playing with them, and what have you. It’s not the first time he’s been seen with the kid. Not the second time either. He’s very, very familiar with the kid. He knows him. He’s got a lot of love for his family…It’s par for the course in today’s day and age. But we also have to understand that you should be very, very hesitant to impugn the integrity of certain people who are as accomplished and who have done as much as Michael Jordan has done…” Stephen A. Smith said.
Stephen A. Smith defends Michael Jordan over his viral video with a kid at the Daytona 500
“You should be very hesitant to impute the integrity of certain people who have accomplished as much as MJ.”
NBA Fans Question Stephen A. Smith Defending Michael Jordan’s Viral Actions During Daytona 500. Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons
“So just because he’s accomplished a lot means he’s allowed to sexually assault children? What a joke.” One fan pointed out.
“So because he accomplished a lot he’s not in the wrong (crying emoji x2)” another fan echoed.
“If it was lebron he would’ve came in here saying he saw it coming,” one more fan accused.
NBA Fans Take MJ’s Side Just Like Stephen A. Smith
On another note, NBA fans are actually siding with Stephen A. Smith and his views on MJ. Many feel that the thing has been simply blown out of proportion and that MJ is completely innocent in all this.
“Integrity is built over years; MJ’s legacy is too strong to tarnish with a moment.” One fan felt.
“He clearly was just trying to get the kids attention in a playful manner…people are making it out to be something it’s not.” one more fan said.
“This is what the kid’s father thinks. Enough is enough with this obvious slander,” another fan stated, sharing Tyler Reddick’s statements.
Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; The hosts of ESPN First Take, Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe and Cam Newton, at the CFP Fan Central at the George World Congress Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images. NBA Fans
Tyler Reddick was asked about this sometime after the clip went viral and he clearly did not feel that MJ did anything wrong. Reddick has been friends with MJ for quite some time now and defended his team owner strongly despite massive accusations coming in.
Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
