The Lakers lost to the Warriors in Wednesday night’s Game 5. They also lost one of their stars, Anthony Davis, for the last few minutes of the game after he took an elbow to the head and had to leave the bench in a wheelchair.
There were immediate concerns that he had suffered a concussion because he was pretty woozy after taking the inadvertent elbow from Kevon Looney. Thankfully it looks like he will be O.K. and is reportedly expected to be available for Game 6, but head injuries aren’t something that should really be taken lightly.
Stephen A. Smith, who is not a doctor, went on ESPN on Thursday morning and yelled a bunch of really ridiculous things about the injury and how he didn’t think concussions could happen in NBA games.
This was all pretty gross:
It’s wild that this is the conversation on a national talk show in 2023 the day after a player looks like they may have been knocked out of a playoff game due to a concussion. pic.twitter.com/SCrMDthGpz
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) May 11, 2023
UPDATE: Smith apologized for that take after the show:
Blow back is Blow back. Comes with the territory, peeps. I was in no way minimizing the seriousness of a concussion. I was questioning whether Anthony Davis really had one, considering the play I saw & other hits I’ve seen him absorb. But, bottom line, it was wrong for me to do.…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 11, 2023
NBA fans did not hold back:
Shame on you @stephenasmith. This kind of 2005 talk sends a terrible message to young athletes. You know better.
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) May 11, 2023
It doesn't have to look catastrophic to cause #concussion. And asking 6'10" guys who are dizzy and can't see straight to walk to the locker room is bad medical care. https://t.co/3ehVpaKUmi
AD got hit in his temple. Do we forget how crucial it is to be hit in your temple???? This is what happens when you let people who've never played a sport talk about sports. https://t.co/uy5beE7hh9
— ღ Fenty 320 ღ (@theegabbibear) May 11, 2023
I must have woken up in 1950 because otherwise I can’t believe we have TV commentators laughing and acting like there’s no possible way to get a concussion unless you get hit by a truck https://t.co/56wq8Qf6Gr
— Brian Sutterer MD (@BrianSuttererMD) May 11, 2023
Trash TV. https://t.co/0nE5WQ9bTf
— FUEGO 🔥♎️🔥 (@SuperFuego87) May 11, 2023
This is gross https://t.co/3hSrefHvrQ
— Chris Joseph (@byChrisJoseph) May 11, 2023
I hope the Lakers and AD see this next time these media clowns are Courtside trying to be all buddy buddy. https://t.co/9gDD0Q1rNF
— David Portillo (@DavidPortillo0) May 11, 2023
I love how we are acting like Kevon Looney didn't swing his elbow and hit Anthony Davis in the temple. Also love how we are making fun of a potential brain injury on National TV. What a joke man. https://t.co/s5hJArLjYW
— JAKE ELLENBOGEN (@JKBOGEN) May 11, 2023
This is really really bad... I mean come on... Coming from a guy who missed 2 months of air time due to a shoulder injury (Stephen A) an another idiot who literally ran himself out the league for getting injured (wasn't that good anyway).... Y'all gotta do better
— EmpireJeff (@EmpireJeff_) May 11, 2023
... https://t.co/QZbWDos0rf
If you wondering why @espn and @Disney have to continue with layoffs seemingly every year, it’s because they pay a man $10 plus million a year to do this… what a joke https://t.co/TgRTUQ6Jss
— Xavier Forte' (@XForteCoach3) May 11, 2023
