Sneaker and apparel brand PUMA made headlines Monday by announcing the signing of NBA draft prospects DeAndre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and Zhaire Smith, plus Knicks’ color commentator and former NBA player Walt “Clyde” Frazier, and the selection of Jay-Z as president of basketball operations (or creative director, depending on which ESPN report you believe). That got a lot of attention, as the company’s last NBA deal came in 1998 when they signed Vince Carter to a 10-year deal (which ended after two years). However, Twitter Moments decided to describe the deals with draft picks as Ayton and Bagley “becoming the first basketball players to sign with the company since 1998.” That’s incorrect, as WNBA player Skylar Diggins-Smith (seen above cheering on her alma mater of Notre Dame in a 2016 game against UConn) signed with PUMA last year, and she dunked on Twitter Moments hard:
Wrong! But welcome to the family! https://t.co/ORXb2rbhry
— Skylar Diggins-Smith (@SkyDigg4) June 19, 2018
That’s pretty funny, and it helps illustrate the issues with the Twitter Moments approach here. They could have been completely correct by adding a simple qualifier, like “the first men’s basketball players to sign with the company” or “the first NBA draft prospects”. But no, they had to generalize to “first basketball players,” something that can be proven as incorrect. That’s not a good move or a good look on their part, and they should be a little more careful in the future.
[Skylar Diggins on Twitter]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.