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NBA Analyst Recalls ESPN Told Him Indiana Pacers Were ‘Just Not Sexy Enough to Cover’ in Shocking Revelation
The NBA analyst's revelations on ESPN's coverage bias between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks in the NBA playoffs sparks debates on media prioritization and team representation.
ESPN is facing a lot of criticism for its recent coverage of the NBA, moreover how it covers the NBA. With its long standing criticism of the network going totally biased in terms of some areas of basketball, the latest bomb has been dropped from another NBA analyst Tim Legler.
Legler shed light on his first hand experience with the 44-year old sports broadcasting network on The Ryen Russillo Podcast. During his feature on the show, the former three point champion told Russillo:
“I wish I had video of all the meetings I’ve been in this year at ESPN when I wanted to talk more about the Indiana Pacers. Particularly after they got Siakam and it’s just not sexy enough. So, it's like we kind of didn’t talk about it.”
Additionally, Legler courageously talked about ESPN executives advising against covering small market teams like the Pacers.
However, he also went on to acknowledge his fondness for the said team’s play style as Legler called it ‘a fun style to play in’. He also praised the team for not wasting dribbles and the team being a worthy package altogether.
ESPN Is Facing Major Criticism for Knicks Coverage
ESPN has found itself again under intense scrutiny for its coverage of the New York Knicks, particularly in the context of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The criticisms have been rather unanimous and focused on what many perceive as New York-centric bias in ESPN's reporting. This bias was evident during Game 7 between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, where ESPN's coverage was heavily tilted in favor of the Knicks, overshadowing the victory and series win by the Indiana Pacers.
The network's excessive emphasis on the Knicks, a team from one of the NBA's biggest markets, at the expense of the Indiana Pacers, representing one of the smallest markets, has fueled widespread backlash.
High-profile figures such as Dan Le Batard and Dan Patrick, as well as Indianapolis-based Pat McAfee, have all joined forces to the widespread criticism of ESPN's coverage.
However, after being called out for the Knicks coverage, the upcoming Celtics-Pacers matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals presents ESPN with a significant challenge in terms of balancing its coverage.
As the focus shifts to the Celtics-Pacers series, all eyes will be on ESPN on how it will approach the coverage to avoid repeating past mistakes.
With the Celtics being a more high-profile team and favorite in the series, ESPN must navigate carefully to ensure fair and balanced coverage that adequately represents both teams without any perceived bias towards the Celtics due to market size or fan base.
Also Read: How Hard It Is to Get Into the NBA? Here’s All You Need to Know
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