NBA's Dallas Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle slammed ESPN reporting. This is the second time in a week that ESPN has taken a hit over their reporting. Patriots' Kraft called their reporting about the Brady, Belichick, Kraft rift, 'fiction." In his capacity as head of the NBA Coaches Association, Carlisle says a recent ESPN article is "a disgrace," according to The Straits Times.
This came after ESPN reported that LaVar Ball had once again criticized the coaching of his son, Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball. He was in Lithuania at the time, where his younger sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, are playing basketball at the moment.
NBA coach criticism by LaVar Ball aimed at Luke Walton
LaVar apparently said that Luke Walton has lost the "confidence" of the players at Lakers. This comment was despite his son Lonzo professing to have no problems with coach Walton. According to the Los Angeles Times, Lonzo Ball told reporters Sunday, January 7, that he would "play for anybody," as "My job is to play basketball. I don't decide who coaches."
Walton did apparently discuss the issue with Laker's execs. Despite a current nine-game losing streak, he said the Lakers' front office "talk all the time. They're 100 percent behind and supporting what we're doing."
Rick Carlisle angry at ESPN
Rick Carlisle is not with Lakers, but he is the head of the NBA Coaches Association.
In this capacity, he had something to say about ESPN reporting. He called for ESPN to "back up the coaches," and went on to describe their article as a "disgrace" because "Luke Walton is a terrific young coach bringing along a young team."
Carlisle admitted he did not expect ESPN to always write what the coaches want to hear, but that they should be more selective about the news coverage they put out.
He said that the news outlet needs to examine their sources before releasing a story. He feels they should try harder to determine the "merit" and "validity" of sources.
He also said that they should be able to determine if their sources are just "blow-hard loudmouths."
ESPN sports reporting slammed
This is certainly not the first time that ESPN sports reporting has been slammed.
Apart from the recent Kraft/Belichick rift issue, there have been other instances. In 2014, EOnline News reported that ESPN had issued an apology over "Michael Sam's speculated shower etiquette."
At the time, ESPN said in a statement online, "ESPN regrets the manner in which we presented our report ...Clearly, on Tuesday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports."
