Sports talk icon Dan Patrick ripped LeBron James and ESPN on Thursday after James announced he’s not retiring from the NBA during a speech at the ESPYs on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
James made the statement when he received the award for best record-breaking performance by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader this past season. Few observers believed James would retire, and Patrick accused James of seeking attention and ESPN of manufacturing a storyline for the same reason.
“I wasn’t waiting for an announcement,” Patrick said. “I got one. And then ESPN is treating it like it’s breaking news. And I went, ‘You know what’s breaking news? If he retired! Not that he’s coming back. Who thought that he might retire?