I haven’t been the nicest person to Kevin Hart on The Liberty Line. After getting my hopes up early September when Ben Simmons posted a photo with Hart while he was working out in the gym in California, I thought that Hart, a minority owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, could have been out in the California hills attempting to smooth things over with Simmons and the Sixers organization. As we all know, that did not happen.

From there, Hart defended Ben Simmons on the “All The Smoke” podcast, but only really provided a few key talking points that had already been recycled on every media outlet in early October. Keep in mind, that was when Ben Simmons was still refusing to rejoin the team, and talk to the media or his teammates. Obviously, things have changed since then. Today, the Philadelphia native joined First Take with Stephen A. Smith and touched on a variety of topics surrounding Philadelphia sports.

First up, we have him predicting that the Eagles will beat the 0-7 Lions this weekend. Nothing really crazy here. The funniest part about this video was the fact that ESPN posted it on YouTube and totally screwed up the caption. At first, I thought Hart was talking out of his ass again and didn’t realize the Eagles already won two games, but it was ESPN’s fault.

Later in the show, the conversation switched to Ben Simmons. Here’s a clip from the conversation.

Hart explains that speed bumps come all the time and that no one knows what Ben Simmons is going through on a personal level. He continued to say that he doesn’t judge Ben Simmons and that he supports him and then when Simmons does come back, he will be better than ever. Hart continues to say that he feels like this is how fans should support their teams and their city, but not kicking when they are down, but rather supporting them and motivating them to be better.

Look, I don’t necessarily disagree with Simmons, but as Stephen A. Smith chimed in, Ben Simmons and Klutch Sports botched this entire situation. We still haven’t heard from Ben Simmons and only rely on the reports that are shared with us. You can’t simply let Simmons off the hook. It would be extremely different if Ben Simmons came out, talked to 76ers fans and the media, and gave us some insight into what exactly is going on with him.

Anyways, there’s your Ben Simmons news dump for the day. The Sixers are back in action tonight against the Atlanta Hawks in South Philadelphia. You can check out a full game preview, odds, and predictions here.

Mandatory Credit: ESPN First Take