J.R. Smith has hit the headlines once again. Not for winning another title with the Lakers, but for beefing with former teammate Sam Dekker.
The 16-year�NBA�veteran recently made a few controversial comments on the�‘All Things Covered Podcast’�regarding his relationship with his past teammates. When asked if he ever disliked a teammate, Smith said one name: Sam Dekker.
Smith cited political reasons, specifically Dekker’s alleged support of President Donald Trump. However, he never divulged the full, exact details of exactly what Dekker said.
The Beef
Dekker responded quickly in a now-deleted tweet. He contested Smith’s credibility and denied even supporting Trump. He looked to deescalate the conflict rather than continue the feud with Smith.
The conflict looked done and dusted with a simple one-off reply, but Dekker’s wife, Olivia Harlan Dekker, liked a tweet calling Smith one of the “dumbest people on planet earth.”
It didn’t just end there. Olivia Dekker responded to another tweet reporting Smith’s statement. This time she took to the keyboard to defend her husband yet again, claiming the report was “unfair” and “inaccurate.”
Once again, she questioned Smith’s intelligence and credibility when asking fans to keep the source in mind.
The conflict escalated as Smith directly responded for the first time also via Twitter. Smith delved a bit deeper into what exactly made him hate Dekker so much.
Allegedly, Dekker supported the usage of the n-word. Whether he directly targeted someone, said it out of context, or even said it at all, but there has to be some truth to the tale unless Smith is simply lying.
Olivia responded just 5 minutes after, refuting Smith’s strong accusations. However, fans met her with criticism, questioning if she and her husband were truthful. Many wondered why Smith would ever lie in a situation like this.
Smith’s latest response cleared up some aspects of Dekker’s actions.
According to Smith’s tweet, Dekker likely didn’t actually “use” the word. In context, Smith seems to criticize Dekker’s opinions of its usage today.
In any case, the beef will probably conclude without a definitive truth.
Shortly after replying to Harlan Dekker for the last time, Smith tweeted his final thoughts: “Y’all better chill today.”
