HIPAA

Stephen A. Smith Will Not Face Punishment From ESPN For Alleged HIPAA Violation

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On August 21, Stephen A. Smith commented on Lonzo Ball’s meniscus injury during an episode of First Take on ESPN. Smith claimed that a source had told him that Ball was struggling to sit down and stand up. Ball responded, showing his ability to stand and sit up while asking Smith who his sources were. Smith, shockingly, responded on The Stephen A. Smith Show, revealing that Ball’s doctors had given him the information.

This was seemingly confirmation that Smith had committed a HIPAA violation. HIPAA is legislation that regulates how private medical information is used. In fact, in Smith’s case – the burning of his source revealed two such violations. The first was Ball’s medical team divulging private medical information to Smith. The second was Smith broadcasting that information on national television. However, according to ESPN, Smith won’t face reprimand for this serious breach of journalistic ethics.

Read More: Stephen A. defends $3000 basketball camp…by saying he does a lot of work for HBCUs?

ESPN Distances Themselves From Smith Controversy

“We don’t have anything to add from the ESPN side here. His podcast is separate from his ESPN role,” an ESPN spokesperson told HotNewHipHop on August 24. From this, it’s clear that ESPN‘s view is that any comments Smith makes on The Stephen A. Smith Show are not to be conflated with his role at the network. Thusly, Smith seemingly admitting to violating HIPAA should not be reflected in his relationship with ESPN.

Except, the information was first revealed to the public on an ESPN product. The entire debacle originated with Smith making these claims on First Take, his primary role with ESPN. However, regardless of whether Smith violated HIPAA, decision to a) burn a source and b) double down when presented with information that debunked your claims, is just the latest drop in a bucket of major Ls that Smith has taken of late. Ball and Smith are yet to respond to either Smith’s comments or the allegations of violating medical legislation. This remains a developing story and we’ll have any updates as and when they emerge.

Read More: Stephen A. tries to walk back tweet calling Kim Kardashian a “prostitute”

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Stephen A. Smith Claims Lonzo Ball’s Doctors Are His Sources

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A beef has erupted between injured Chicago Bulls star Lonzo Ball and ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith. It all began earlier this week when Smith said on First Take that a source had told him that Ball was having difficulty sitting and standing. Ball, who will miss the 2023/24 NBA season, is continuing to rehab from a torn meniscus suffered in January 2022. In response to Smith, Ball posted a video on social media, asking Smith who his sources were as he showed that he could indeed sit and stand with minimal effort.

Instead of taking the L, Smith decided to double down. “You really going to sit poolside on the bench and think because you getting up and sitting down… that makes you healthy? … Bro, you ain’t healthy,” Smith said on First Take. Smith then proceeded to further address the issue on The Stephen A. Smith Show and may have inadvertently admitted to serious journalistic malpractice in the process.

Read More: Stephen A. defends $3000 basketball camp…by saying he does a lot of work for HBCUs?

Smith Claims Source Is A HIPAA Violation

“Would you like me to tell you the names of the doctors that operated on you? I know the actual doctors…..if I said it it’s because someone close to you told me,” Smith claimed during a two-minute about Ball’s comments. Now if Smith wasn’t ESPN‘s biggest revenue stream, this two-minute clip would have just ended his career. What Smith has done here is admit, or at least claim, that his source on Lonzo Ball’s injury is the Ball’s medical team. That’s a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violation. HIPAA regulates how your personal medical information is handled by healthcare providers and insurance companies. One of the things that the legislation protects against is medical professionals disclosing your medical information without your consent. If Smith is telling the truth, someone on Ball’s medical team illegally gave that information to Smith.

But the buck doesn’t stop there. Smith, who has been a journalist and broadcast since before HIPAA even existed, should know better than this. This is not information that you disclose. As mentioned, this would end the career of a lesser journalist. Of course, it’s not like ESPN is going to fire or punish Smith, especially after losing out on Shannon Sharpe. But somehow, Smith found a way to turn his L from earlier in the day into an even bigger L. Ball and ESPN are yet to respond to this frankly shocking revelation from a seasoned journalist who absolutely should know better.

Read More: Stephen A. tries to walk back tweet calling Kim Kardashian a “prostitute”

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The post Stephen A. Smith Claims Lonzo Ball’s Doctors Are His Sources appeared first on HotNewHipHop.