Van Gundy said that the coaches association requested he cooperate with mediaNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy has "changed course" from comments recently about ESPN, when he said he would limit access to the network due to its recent coverage of LaVar Ball, according to Rod Beard of the DETROIT NEWS. Van Gundy had said that he "wouldn’t participate in all the 'extras' that ESPN requests for nationally televised games." But Van Gundy on Thursday "made an about-face" ahead of Friday night's game on ESPN against the Wizards. He said, "I got an email from [Mavericks coach] Rick Carlisle of the coaches association and they want me to cooperate." Van Gundy said that he will "cooperate with the television requests but separated the website as another entity, which will bear the brunt of his vitriol" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/19). In Detroit, Vince Ellis notes Carlisle reminded Van Gundy that ESPN's article on Ball and Lakers coach Luke Walton "appeared on the website and the broadcast arm had nothing to do with the report." Van Gundy "scoffed" at ESPN as a "journalism entity." He said, “They want to put themselves out there as a journalistic enterprise. They’re clearly not. They don’t have journalistic standards so I’ve got no obligation to do anything extra" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/19).
