Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban yesterday addressed his unhappiness with Bleacher Report and its Dirk Nowitzki post over the weekend, saying the website "made the mistake of picking a caption (that) was disrespectful rather than funny," according to Eddie Sefko of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The tweet was a video of a Nowitzki airball with the caption, "Dirk Forever," and Cuban said, "I (couldn’t) care less about the video. It was the caption that made it disrespectful. When it was up, there wasn’t a single reply saying it was funny. Just the opposite. Aren’t blooper reels supposed to be funny?" Cuban added, "Sometimes humor attempts go wrong. ... If you are disrespectful to a legend, I'm standing up for him" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/28). ESPN's Bomani Jones said Cuban's request "feels like going a little farther than just being a good owner." Jones: "It felt like being unnecessarily defensive, and he wouldn't have done this for just any player. My question is: Bleacher Report, what the hell are you doing taking it down?” ESPN’s Dan Le Batard: “If you’re used to getting your way like Mark Cuban, if you’re in a partnership with Bleacher Report, why not make this ask? The worst that can happen is they say no and you’re still trying to defend your player. The best thing that can happen is you defended your player and all of a sudden, everyone now knows that you bullied Bleacher Report. It’s a no-lose situation for Mark Cuban” (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 2/27). ESPN Radio's Jon Weiner said, "It sets such a bad precedent." He added Bleacher Report "should be ashamed of themselves for what they did" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 2/28).
CONTROL THE MESSAGE: ESPN’s J.A. Adande said this is a “continued attempt to control the media by someone in a position of power within the NBA.” He added NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "needs to … wonder, ‘Are we going to maintain the type of media friendly league that the NBA traditionally has been?’ Because Mark Cuban has been behaving more like Donald Trump” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 2/27). In N.Y., Hannah Withiam writes it will be "interesting to see what happens the next time an outlet irks Cuban" (N.Y. POST, 2/28).
