Michael Wilbon Opens Up To OutKick About LeBron James, Stephen A. Smith, Windhorst, & More

Michael Wilbon is arguably the most revered sports writer and commentator of this generation. He is one of the few people in the world of sports who both LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith have admitted they admire. 

So, instead of sharing my thoughts about the ongoing viral feud between James and Smith, we thought it'd be more impactful to share the perspective of someone who knows both men well.

On Thursday night, Wilbon spoke to OutKick exclusively for the first time about James' recent criticisms of the media, ESPN, and Wilbon's colleagues Stephen A. Smith and Brian Windhorst.

Bobby Burack: Michael, why now? Why is LeBron James, for the first time in his 22-year career, choosing to fight with the media?

Michael Wilbon: First, I appreciate you reaching out to me, Bobby, and tackling this story responsibly. I don't know. I haven't talked to LeBron about it. I haven't been around him this year, not yet. But I'd love to talk to him about it and I will the next time I see him.

I have been doing this for 45 years, talking to athletes in every sport. I don't come from the ESPN generation of covering only one sport. I covered everyone from Mike Tyson to Carl Lewis to Chris Evert, from Michael Jordan to LeBron James, from Kobe Bryant to Cal Ripken. And LeBron is as good as anyone--ever. I've covered them all. Magic, Bird, and no one is better than LeBron when it comes to being engaging and patient with the media. Nobody. So, I don't know where all of this is coming from. 

I'm telling you, Bobby, no one has been better with the media than LeBron. He actually answers your question. He listens. He is thoroughly engaged when he talks to you or gives you time. I almost want to give him a pass because it's just a week in his 20-year career. He has earned it. At least to me. Some athletes are assholes and haven't earned the right to be assholes. 

But I still don't understand this recent approach by LeBron. I don't get it. It annoys me because some of these things are beneath him.

Burack: Which parts?

Wilbon: The Windhorst comments [that he pretends to be LeBron's "best friend" and is "weird"]. I've been around LeBron when people have asked him about something that happened two decades ago in Ohio. And he would respond by saying, "I don't even remember that. Ask Windy. Windy will know." That tells me he has a respect for Windhorst that is undeniable. I know he respects Windhorst. So, why say this now?

As for his issues with Stephen A., he and Stephen A. are both big boys. They can go at it. I refuse to even consume their beef. People are calling me and asking me about it. My son asked me about it. And I told him I didn't care. There is too much ego involved on both sides of it. I don't give a damn about the bullshit. But the Windhorst comments bother me.

Brian is in a tough spot. He takes his job seriously. Brian is accountable, which a lot of people in this business today are not. And that pisses me off. Look, Brian is not a show monkey. He is not out here drawing attention to himself with some ego or agenda. Brian Windhorst is great at what he does. Great, Bobby. And I will vouch for him anytime, against anyone.

And if I were talking to LeBron right now, I'd say that to his face.

MILWAUKEE, WI - JULY 20: NBA TV Analysts Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon previews the game between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks during Game Six of the 2021 NBA Finals on July 20, 2021 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Burack: LeBron thinks the media has covered him unfairly, compared to past athletes of his status. Is that true?

Wilbon: No.

LeBron is praised. I am one of the people covering him. I have covered him for 20 years. And he deserves the praise because he is great. He has been great from day one.

But here's what annoys me, and I have heard this from players like Kevin Durant lately. They say the previous generation of players were not criticized like they are. Fuck that. They better wake the fuck up. 

They don't think Michael Jordan was criticized for going to Atlantic City during the Knicks series? Really? They don't think Jordan was criticized for playing golf during the playoffs? Really? They don't think Wilt was criticized?

I have said this to these players privately and will say it publicly: everyone gets criticized. They are just too young to know what the hell they are talking about. But maybe I'm just old.

Burack: How much of a role has social media played in athletes today worrying too much about criticism?

Wilbon: Too much. Too damn much. They pay too much attention to it. They are on it too much. If you can't handle it, get off it.

I am off it. I think I still have four and a half million followers on Twitter, but I don't use it. It wasn't for me, anyway. I realized I didn't want to consume the bullshit. I'm too old for that. Everything is distorted. There's too much glorification, there's too much criticism, there's too much everything. It's an exercise in excess.

I'm not a child of this era. I am a child of the mainstream media. There is no accountability in this world. I had to be accountable to bosses and editors. These people on the internet don't.

I have to be accountable to the athletes I cover today. If I say something cockeyed about LeBron or Kevin Durant, or going back to John Elway or Emmitt Smith, they had and have every right to come up to me and say, "What the hell did you say about me?" And then we would have to sit there and talk it out. That's how it should be.

People on social media just talk. That's it. They talk and face no accountability. I hate it.

Burack: There's no question. And people are worried too much about fitting in with what's trendy on social media. Maybe that's why people in the business don't like me.

Wilbon: I hate all of this. It's too much. I want to sit down with all of these athletes and discuss all of this. LeBron is too important. He has too much credibility, which he earned, and stature, which he earned, to worry about what is said about him. Same with Steph Curry. Their voices matter. They matter to me. They matter to young kids.

This whole LeBron and Stephen A. stuff, I just can't. Enough. Stop it. I'm too old for it. I am too old to consume it. But Windhorst didn't deserve it.

DENVER, CO - JUNE 1: Michael Wilbon talks to the media during Game One of the 2023 NBA Finals on June 1, 2023 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Burack: It feels like a WWE feud. That's probably why people are so interested.

Wilbon: Yes, exactly. That's a great way to look at it. Enough. Both of them. 

And, look, I am a father, too. Let me let you in on some inside baseball, Bobby. And you probably know this. But "PTI" did not talk about Bronny. We never did. All the Bronny talk that our network did was pandering. It was for clicks and eyeballs. I refused to participate. 

You can go back and look, "PTI" didn't cover him, except for maybe the real news, like the day after he was drafted. Those other shows, it was every day. Bronny. Bronny. Bronny. What the hell is this? It was a disaster waiting to happen.

I have a 17-year-old son, so this matters to me. I am particularly sensitive to it. I'd do anything for my kid, and I would hug LeBron for what he did for his kid. 

I am a father first. That's how I see this story--not as a columnist or a talking head--but as a father first. So, I get what LeBron did. And LeBron has also been great to my kid.

But as far as coverage, no. There were shows that talked about Bronny every day. You know what shows I'm talking about. I don't care if my bosses get mad. They would try to get Tony and me to talk about it. No, we were not going to do it.

Burack: There was a story somewhere about how ESPN and FS1 covered Bronny more this season than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the frontrunner for MVP.

Wilbon: That's right. I didn't even think about that. It's true. They talked about him more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That's pandering. It's all pandering.

Let me be clear: our business is a piece of shit a lot of days.

There is nobody enforcing standards or having tough conversations. This is what happens when you no longer have functioning newsrooms, because everyone is working from hotel rooms, from their bedrooms, and maybe even from their beds. 

People are not in newsrooms anymore or a studio, where you can call them out on their bullshit. That's a problem. 

Instead, there are a bunch of 20-year-olds pitching stories while spending all day on social media and reinforcing each other's bullshit. It's 100% pandering, and I hate it. You know this, Bobby. You see it.

But again, I was not critical of LeBron as a dad, at all. I feel differently about this than most. I get it. However, Tony and I didn't need to talk about it publicly. Tony understands it too. His son, Michael, works for him. But we aren't talking about Bronny every day. Hell no.

This isn't about Stephen A. It's the entire industry. That's what I want to remind LeBron. 

Our business is just shit some days. It just is.

Burack: Michael, I appreciate your candor and insight. Our readers will appreciate it, too.

Wilbon: Bobby, thank you for reaching out and showing curiosity. We need more of that.