Michelle Beadle Claims LeBron Tried to Get Her Fired From ESPN: ‘Now it Will Always be Personal’

After nearly two years away from sports media, Michelle Beadle has returned with a podcast for The Athletic and claims LeBron James once tried to get her fired from ESPN.

Beadle had two stints with ESPN, the first beginning in 2009 and the second ending in 2019. She welcomed her former ESPN colleague Paul Pierce to her new podcast, and the NBA Hall-of-Famer asked her about a rumor involving James.

“There was a rumor that he got you fired from ESPN, so I could understand why you don’t like him,” Pierce said to Beadle.

“He tried,” Beadle acknowledged. “He did try to do that. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m honored that I’m even on your mind. Thank you very much. That’s a weird place for me to be.’”

“My stuff with him started off not personal,” Beadle continued. “I made fun of The Decision like 400,000 other talking heads did at the time. I think for some reason that was it. It wasn’t personal to begin, but now it will always be personal.”

James was widely ridiculed for The Decision in 2010, a TV special aired by ESPN to announce where the NBA superstar was heading in free agency. Beadle didn’t state the exact comment she made that James took issue with. But it may have occurred during her first ESPN tenure, when the SportsNation host was featured in a 2010 parody skit that mocked James’ Nike commercial about The Decision.

“I’m very comfortable with not liking people,” Beadle added. “I think that’s what makes us all healthy. It’s the people who pretend they like everyone – you can’t trust them.”

Watch above via The Athletic