The Internet keeps receipts, Stephen A. Smith conveniently forgot. Another one of his loud hot takes could’ve been forgotten until he doubled down. That prompted a firestorm of backlash against SAS’s perceived prejudices when it comes to anything to do with the Los Angeles Lakers. Those who missed the initial furor, it started when Luka Doncic suffered a grade 2 hamstring strain when the Lakers suffered a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2. The immediate broadcast of First Take would become the lightning rod in Smith’s clash with the NBA fanbase.

Doncic is not being shut down for the rest of the year, although he will likely be out for a month. Before the MRI confirmed the severity of his injury, Smith suggested that Doncic’s hamstring issue appeared suspiciously convenient given the 30-point deficit.

“It was almost so that it’s a good thing that Luka actually got hurt and had to get taken out in the 3rd quarter because when we saw him holding his hamstring in the first half a lot of was like, wait a minute now that wasn’t happening when you were dropping 30+ the last 15 games. But suddenly now your damn hamstring is hurt,” Stephen A. Smith remarked live on First Take.

Polymarket Hoops, a known NBA stats source, highlighted these comments with an added comment. “Stephen A. this morning said Luka Doncic was faking his injury after the team was getting blown out, per @FirstTake 🤦‍♂️… Now he’s out indefinitely for the year…”

The ESPN veteran quoted that tweet with a clapback that is not open to interpretation. “Absolute Lie! But go ahead and get your clicks,” he claims.

Fans immediately saw this tweet as a poor attempt to distance himself from the narrative he spun only hours earlier. And they didn’t let him get away with it.

Fans contradict Stephen A. Smith with harsh replays

As much as SAS wished this tweet will work like the Neuralyzer in Men in Black, it didn’t. His comments on live television were archived on the Internet for fans to pull up with ease. It however, didn’t stop at the full receipts. Fans returned his harsh commentary in the same tone.

At the least, fans demanded accountability for his own comments, asking, “You actually said this though, so where is the lie?” At worst, they question the necessity behind such a wild accusation as a player faking an injury. “Yes you did… You insinuated that Luka was ‘pretending’ that he was hurt to ‘run away’ from the ‘a– whooping’ and even went as far as to say it was ‘a good thing Luka got hurt’ it’s all on tape.”

LakeShow is aware that Doncic played through pain on most days before it got exacerbated that game. He’s currently heading to Europe to speed up the recovery process and make an earlier return. Which means Smith’s comments didn’t age well. 

The most direct outrage came with the visual evidence available to the public, with a critic firing back, “absolute lie” and this is literally on video?? here’s the jumbotron… you said it was a good thing luka got injured. you are a very pathetic and sad man to thrive off this content. you are the main contributor to the death of sports journalism 🕊️🕊️”

A few barely gave him the chance to correct himself. “bruh anything that comes outta that mouth is a lie lol… tell the truth and act like you know what you’re talking about!” But most were ruthless.

The irony of Smith accusing others of chasing clicks, clout-chasing, or aura farming was not lost on the audience. “Bro is lying as if he didn’t say it on live TV. Also Screamin A telling someone else to ‘get your clicks’ might be the most ironic thing I’ve ever heard.”

The fact that the controversy unfolded on a holiday specifically about ‘speaking the truth,’ added a layer of moral indignation to the fan reactions. Many brutally clapped back, “So now you want to sit here & lie on this Easter Sunday like you ain’t really say that s— huh?🤔🤔” and others echoed, “blatantly lying on Easter Sunday smh the proof is literally in the pudding. mfs wasn’t born yesterday man we deada– watched you say it word for word bar for bar lol Stephen A. so full of 💩”

As the Lakers brace for a postseason without a clear timeline for their star, Stephen A. Smith’s attempt to walk back his theatrical analysis remains a losing battle against an offended fanbase.