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The war of words is erupting between Stephen A. Smith and Dez Bryant on social media, and it's starting to get personal.
Bryant, a former NFL player who spent most of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, retired in 2020 after leaving the Baltimore Ravens. It seems the wide receiver holds a keen interest in basketball too, judging by his recent verbal battle with Smith.
Smith and Bryant engaged in a war of words after the former ranted about WNBA player Angel Reese, with Bryant taking exception to his comments about the Chicago Sky star and claiming he shot to fame by criticizing athletes.
It came after prolific tweeter Bryant, who has 3.4 million followers on X, asked why Reese wasn't getting more recognition after helping the Sky beat Indiana Fever 88-87 on Sunday.
"I don't see much praise on the historic rookie run Angel Reese is having in her Rookie year," he wrote, before calling out Smith and Shannon Sharpe. "@stephenasmith @ShannonSharpe where y'all at? She deserves the high praise right now!"
Stephen A. Smith defends himself from Dez Bryant attack
Smith responded with an angry retort, correcting Bryant that Sharpe had given praise to the 22-year-old WNBA rookie and claimed the ex-football star was simply begging for attention.
"Man, for once, will you stop your B.S," Smith tweeted. "@ShannonSharpe has praised her continuously. So have I, even profiling her excellence on numerous occasions. It's on our social media pages @stephenasmith. We've talked about her on @FirstTake.
"If you want notoriety, just say so, bro! You need attention? Just ask to come on the damn show. But stop lying!"
Unsurprisingly, Bryant hit back at the ESPN host and accused of him of playing favorites in dishing out praise.
"Say pimp don't ever in your life play with me talking about notoriety... I don't give a f*** about none of that," Bryant wrote with a quote-tweet. "Don't get mad at me because I'm calling spade a spade. Y'all pick and chose end of story."