Over the past couple of seasons, the NBA had the most entertaining social media presence of the four major North American sports, but the league feel teams and players have gone too far.
In a memo released by the league this week, teams were told that they need to be “aware of the NBA's rules with respect to the use of social media by teams. As with in-game entertainment, teams are prohibited from mocking and/or ridiculing opponents (including teams, players, team personnel (including owners) and opponents' home cities) and game officials on social media in any form, including through statements, pictures or videos."
A couple teams have already started to interact differently within these new rules. The weirdest part is that they’re trying to stop players from feuding – which seems like it would be good for the league.
The ruling comes at an inconvenient time for some teams, like the Warriors and Thunder who are promoting one of the biggest games of their season, with Kevin Durant returning to OKC for the first time. The whole situation has turned into a big feud, even causing Durant to beef up his security before the game.
Still, the Warriors are trying to keep their hands clean, with some subtle trolling.
In case you didn’t notice, the player representing the Thunder in the promo is an odd decision. That’s Andre Roberson, the team’s starting small forward who averages 6.7 points per game. Who most people would have expected to be in the graphic obviously would be the team’s best player and the person who everyone will be watching in Durant’s return to OKC, Russell Westbrook.
Fans immediately noticed Wesbrook’s absence from the photo.
(H/T to FTW)
