The Nets have "decided to part ways" with BrooklyKnight, the "unpopular character" who has served as team mascot for the past two seasons, according to Tim Bontemps of the N.Y. POST. Nets and Barclays Center Exec VP & Chief Communications Officer Barry Baum said, "We put a lot of energy and thought into the BrooklyKnight, but we've decided to go in a different direction." Bontemps notes Marvel Comics was "commissioned to create the character," who was "developed with much fanfare" to replace the Nets' previous mascot Sly Fox. However, fans were "never drawn to the mascot, with many deeming it too scary for children and lacking ... comedic value" (N.Y. POST, 7/11). In N.Y., Stefan Bondy notes the mascot could be seen during games "running around the Barclays Center court with his flag and Power Ranger-esque outfit." The concept was "panned almost immediately" as his first appearance at the Barclays Center -- when he was lowered from the ceiling on opening night in '12 -- was "resoundingly mocked on social media." Part of the Nets' decision to "ditch the mascot is the name, which is a little too close to that of a male adult film star for the team's liking" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/11). GRANTLAND's Zach Lowe wrote while BrooklyKnight has a "shiny mask, some Batman-style chest muscles you couldn't even see, and a silver shield with a 'B' on it," he really was "just a guy in plain black spandex." Lowe: "The pricey construction project spit out a product that looked cheap, almost homemade" (GRANTLAND.com, 7/10).
SUPERMARKET SWEEP: In N.Y., Frank Green reports Mr. Met greeted straphangers and handed out snacks Thursday at the Court Square subway station in Long Island as "part of a joint promotional effort by the Mets and online grocer FreshDirect." Mr. Met’s appearance, the "first of many to come, was the fruit of a new partnership" between the team and FreshDirect (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/11).
