Shaquille O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe Beef Triggers 5-Word Verdict From ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith

Shaq and Shay are beefing. But what’s new? Shaquille O’Neal has not been on friendly terms with Shannon Sharpe for ages. Nikola Jokic’s MVP remark is just another point of contention between them. The dynamic has been so known that the go-between/mediator/mutual friend who plays Switzerland, Stephen A. Smith is not sweating over it. He’s been talking about the current episode of Shaq vs Shay quite often recently. This week, he addressed the feud between both his closest ‘brothers’ on The Stephen A. Smith Show with a lack of seriousness.

While explaining both sides of his old NBA friend and his ESPN colleague, Smith told his two friends and all the people way too invested in their fight, “Ladies and gentlemen, here’s my point to both folks – get the hell over it.” Looks like there’s finally something SAS is tired of talking about. But he talks about it anyway.

Smith and Shaq’s careers have gone parallel with each other. The big man still torments him with his alter-ego, Tex Johnson but Smith refers to him as ” my brother on so many levels, we go back a long ways.” Moreover, Sharpe and Smith have been co-hosting First Take for a long time and someone Smith is “proud” of working with. So Smith’s intent to stay neutral in this feud is rather understandable.

Despite not having communicated with Shaq directly about this, Smith could reasonably understand O’Neal’s sentiments over the MVP criteria. The criteria is something that Shaq raised well before the feud. And he’s sure “Shaq probably took exception to being called envious.” But Smith can also understand Sharpe’s stance as an interviewer, podcaster, and host of a show. He calls them exceptional athletes well deserving of their titles. But he doesn’t think there’s anything worth feuding about.

Shaq and Shannon Sharpe’s friend won’t mediate

Smith rarely is the calmer voice of reason. But this time he says both athletes-turned-analysts are entitled to their differing opinions as long as they don’t make it personal which a diss track is. He says, “far be it for me to be the one to promote peace amongst everyone.” Yet he’s been pretty involved in this feud.

In the previous episode of his self-titled show, Smith said Shaq texted him to say that all the spectators commenting on his and Sharpe’s feud have no business getting involved. That was when Shaq had dropped a rap song that went as follows. “Oh no Shannon Sharpe you’re way beneath me, Your whole demeanor is faker than new rapper beef be, You’re soft, before you get fly you’d rather tweet me, I was in three different cars when you was in 3.”

Regardless, Smith believes his friends are fine and there’s no real war between them, We’ll only know till Shaq acts up again. Because Sharpe is determined to keep it quiet.