The Outkick founder isn't happy about 'left wing politics' infiltrating the NBA.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the Indiana Pacers in Oklahoma City.
Outkick founder Clay Travis lashed out at a sports writer for ignoring the NBA “lighting its brand on fire with left wing politics” ahead of the first game of the 2025 NBA Finals on Thursday. Andrew Marchand, a senior writer covering sports media at The Athletic, made an admission ahead of the 8:30 p.m. ET match up between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers in a post on X.and influential conservative commentator, shot back at Marchard, claiming that the ratings will be “sh-t” because the NBA brand is. “Your only job is to cover sports media yet you haven’t been willing to cover this ratings story because you’re a white dude for Harris, like many sports media…,” Travis In a separate post, Travis added that sports media’s “unwillingness” to cover how “left wing politics” deflated the NBA’s viewership is similar to how political media “refused” to coveralleged physical and mental decline — as concerns have grown since CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson released a The sports media’s unwillingness to cover how left wing politics crushed viewership for the NBA is not dissimilar to how political media refused to cover Biden’s physical and mental cognitive issues. It’s a clear truth that most see, but they pretend doesn’t exist.Meanwhile, the NBA’s regular season viewership has remained fairly steady in recent years, after reaching its lowest point during the league’s pandemic year in 2021 with 1.39 million viewers,. The NBA’s 2024-25 regular season averaged an audience of 1.53 million — compiling totals from TNT, ESPN and ABC — marking a 2% decline from last season’s 1.56 million viewers. Other audiences for live sports have recorded decreased viewership, including the same year-over-year drop of 2% for the NFL regular season. The NHL’s average for this year’s regular season had also dropped by 13%.that the final series between the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this year’s MVP, and Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton might draw record-low ratings, given the two teams play in two of the smallest U.S. television markets in the NBA,Jeff Zillgitt, an NBA reporter for USA TODAY Sports, has encouraged viewers to celebrate and appreciate the game, as both teams have emerged as the best in the league.on Thursday. “The NBA is in an era that fans should embrace. It’s not the same teams and same players season after season. It’s not the teams with the deepest pockets getting to the Finals all the time. Young, talented players are exposed to a wider audience.”Trump right-hand man and MAGA loyalist: ‘I don’t have any friends’ If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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