"Just take an L" - NBA insider slams Stephen A. Smith for not resolving beef with LeBron James

LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith have been at odds for the past month regarding how the longtime ESPN show host has approached his coverage of the NBA and, more specifically, his comments on the King's son, Bronny James.

An NBA insider recently voiced his opinion, saying that Smith must admit he was wrong.

LeBron James is one of the most respected players in the NBA. He has built one of the most remarkable careers the league has ever seen. His influence stretches from the court to the business side of the league, including his interactions with personalities across the sports media landscape.

Meanwhile, Stephen A. Smith has been with ESPN for decades and has become a leader in the sports media space.

On Friday's episode of the What's Wright? podcast, sports reporter and First Things First host Nick Wright called out Stephen A. Smith for dragging out the conflict between him and LeBron James. In Wright's opinion, Smith's best move would have been to acknowledge that he was wrong and move on from the situation.

"Just take an L, man," said Wright to Smith about the conflict between him and LeBron James. "All you had to do the day after LeBron walked up on you after the game against the Knicks was kind of what you did on TV, which was be like 'I don't really want to talk about this, that was a father talking about his son.'"

Stephen A. Smith has continued to disagree with LeBron James over how the NBA is covered and his responsibility to his audience as a sports journalist. Smith has been receiving backlash from his peers in the sports media world and from LeBron James himself, who has accused him of making the situation a bigger deal than it is.

LeBron James called out Stephen A. Smith on national TV

LeBron James made an appearance on Wednesday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, where he spoke with the former NFL punter about the situation between him and the ESPN personality. According to James, Smith has revelled in the conflict between himself and the Lakers forward instead of just moving on.

"He's on a Taylor Swift tour run right now," James said. "It started off with 'I didn't want to address it, I didn't want to address it, but since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.'"

The video between James and Smith went viral after the Lakers' win over the Knicks on March 6th. According to James, however, Smith was happy that the video made the rounds it did, putting him in the spotlight and giving him the platform to respond:

"Are you kidding me?" James said about Smith's reaction to the video of the two of them. "If there's anyone that couldn't wait until the video drops so you can address it, it's you."

The conflict between the two powerhouses in their fields has ranged from how NBA reporters have spoken about Bronny James to how the league is covered. While both sides seem steadfast in their opinions, Nick Wright and others are ready to put the conflict behind them instead of escalating things unnecessarily.