Hell broke loose on social media after Los Angeles Clippers star Russell Westbrook got into it with a few players of the Dallas Mavericks in the last playoffs. On most occasions in this first-round battle, Westbrook was messing with Luka Doncic and a few Mavericks stars, which ESPN analyst Stephen. A. Smith did not entertain. Especially after Westbrook’s antics in game 3, Smith wanted him suspended, for which he was ultimately termed a ‘snitch‘ by former NBA veteran Stephen Jackson. Well, here is Smith’s reply to the accusations. 

Russell Westbrook was ejected in game 3 of the Clippers vs Mavericks series for multiple unnecessary contacts. The final straw was locking hands with Doncic, who was driving in for a quick bucket. He also got into it with Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington, who came to defend his teammate. Smith felt the above plays were dirty. 

When Westbrook showed up for game 4, Smith shared that he was of the mindset that Westbrook deserved to be suspended. He also tweeted, “Knowing the league office would’ve normally suspended anyone for this, I called to ask why this was different.” Smith wanted an explanation from the league for letting Westbrook play in game 4. However, former Warriors star Stephen Jackson was furious that Smith attempted to suspend Westbrook, despite having no authority over things like that. 

“You snitching, bro… that was the league’s decision” he had remarked, expressing that Smith was trying to influence the decision. For Stephen A. Smith, that was a question about his integrity after working in the field for over two decades. Speaking about his career on the OG podcast, the ESPN analyst relays that he has never been the one to betray and when Jackson arrived with accusations, it did not sit right with him. 

“When Stephen Jackson came with that s***, that pissed me off. You talking about I’m snitching because I called the NBA office to ask about Russell Westbrook. Well I was doing NBA countdown,” Smith states. He further reveals that he was asked to find out why Westbrook wasn’t suspended, “what am I supposed to do… [say] no?” he adds, justifying his role. But hold on, it doesn’t stop here. 

Stephen A Smith uses Draymond Green’s suspensions in his defense

When we speak about the suspensions from last season, Draymond Green’s name is the first to pop out. The Golden State Warriors forward was suspended for 17 games after choking Rudy Gobert and punching Jusuf Nurkic. Apart from this, there were several ejections too. Green was given the punishments for the injury-prone fouls he made. Smith believed Westbrook’s fouls were of the same lines. 

The 56-year-old analyst said, “If this had been Draymond Green, y’all would have suspended him. Why didn’t y’all suspend here?” Smith wanted fair treatment. Even today, he believes Westbrook deserved a suspension for all the unnecessary contact made in game 3. 

However, Smith also confirmed that this was not a move against Westbrook. In fact, he believes the Los Angeles Clippers star belongs to the Hall of Fame. Smith’s final stance about this feud was, “That was about me doing my job for NBA Countdown.” Plain and simple!