Shannon Sharpe gets into altercation with Ja Morant, Tee Morant and Memphis Grizzlies
LOS ANGELES — Fox Sports personality and Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe had to be escorted from the Crypto.com Arena floor Friday night after an altercation with several Memphis Grizzlies players.
The altercation happened shortly after the halftime buzzer when Sharpe yelled at Ja Morant after the final possession of the first half. As Morant was walking off the court toward the locker room, he paused and walked in the direction of Sharpe at his courtside seat.
Before Morant could get any closer, teammate Steven Adams stepped in front of him and approached Sharpe.
Others, including Morant's father Tee Morant, then got involved as Crypto.com security separated the crowd.
"I bet you won't!" Sharpe yelled at Tee Morant as the two were pulled away from each other.
Absolute madness. Shannon Sharpe was talking to Ja Morant, then Steven Adams walked over in front of Ja Morant. Tee Morant and Shannon Sharpe then had words before Sharpe was escalated off the floor. pic.twitter.com/iIpOnxDPiH
— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) January 21, 2023
Sharpe and Tee Morant were both back in their seats for the second half.
Tee Morant told TNT and Bleacher Report that things "are good" between him and Sharpe and dismissed the altercation as trash talk.
More of the verbal confrontation between Tee Morant & Shannon Sharpe pic.twitter.com/6f3uPRqVQE
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 21, 2023
The sequence started when Dillon Brooks and LeBron James were battling for position while James was posting Brooks up in front of Sharpe's seat. After the possession, Brooks looked in Sharpe's direction, and the two had words.
The talking continued throughout the final Grizzlies possession, when Morant and Adams got involved.
"They do all that talking and jockeying and I ain't about all that jockeying," Sharpe said to ESPN.
Shannon Sharpe spent halftime in the tunnel with security before returning to his seat for the third quarter. He granted ESPN a brief interview explaining what happened with the Grizzlies on his way to his seat: pic.twitter.com/XZNw6sQhEG
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 21, 2023
Sharpe and Tee Morant were later seen embracing.
And all is well. Tee Morant and Shannon Sharpe hug it out. pic.twitter.com/LFPSrEb0oz
— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) January 21, 2023
The Lakers snapped the Grizzlies' 11-game winning streak with a dramatic 122-121 victory, much to Sharpe's delight.
Tee Morant 🤝 Shannon Sharpe pic.twitter.com/onBqNvLgEV
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 21, 2023
"Shannon didn’t do anything. Hey, he was doing like we do in South Carolina: We talk our (expletive)," Tee Morant told ESPN after the game. "South Carolina, stand up!" he added.
The Grizzlies were clearly not happy with Sharpe – Brooks said he "should never have came back in the game" – but they did not speak about the incident at length.
Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks on Shannon Sharpe: “I ain’t talking about that. You can ask him. He’s the blogger or whatever he is. I don’t really care about all that. Next question.” pic.twitter.com/xaMEOA9pEU
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 21, 2023
Grizzlies’ Ja Morant on Shannon Sharpe altercation: “……………… Let me think. Nah. I ain’t going to address that. I’m going to let him lay over there.” pic.twitter.com/iV2pVwR9Mt
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 21, 2023
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins when asked about the bizarre halftime run-in sidestepped the question: “I thought the Lakers played extremely well tonight”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 21, 2023
James, who continues to move closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring mark, said Sharpe is his "guy."
"I ride with Shannon 365 days – 366 on a leap year – 24/7," James said. "That's my guy. I'll always have his back and he's got mine. He can talk with the best of them, for sure."
LeBron on Shannon Sharpe: “I ride with Shannon 365 days — 366 on a leap year — 24/7. So that’s my guy. I always got his back. And he’s got mine. He can talk with the best of them, for sure.” pic.twitter.com/bAHMuPZkix
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) January 21, 2023
Contributing: Jace Evans
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shannon Sharpe gets into altercation with members of Grizzlies