Banter by NBA social media teams is very common and usually pretty funny in today’s game. Recently, the Atlanta Hawks missed the mark via Enes Kanter.
Getting jokes off on Twitter is such a rush. The feeling when you see an opportunity just before the internet masses find it and think of the perfect joke is a feeling second only to that of watching the retweets and likes pile up.
Sometimes, however, you make a joke that you think is really great until you start seeing comments instead liked. By the time you’ve realized you made a bad or inappropriate joke, the internet pounces on you without mercy.
The Atlanta Hawks social media team learned that this week when they commented on a scary play involving New York Knicks big man Enes Kanter.
? "As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" ? pic.twitter.com/IcmgK1zfGP
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 8, 2018
This is absolutely tasteless.
The fact that somebody pitched this video to the social media team and nobody thought, “hey maybe let’s not make fun of someone who was almost seriously injured,” blows my mind.
That’s not to mention the fact that the video depicts the Hawks bench jumping up and laughing as if somebody was crossed into non-existence rather than reacting to 250 pounds being slammed like any bad guy in a movie starring The Rock.
Alonzo Trier sent this man to the G-League??pic.twitter.com/3XapIONO0c
— ✶ ✶ ✶ (@CardiacKembaa) November 8, 2018
Luckily, Kanter was able to get the final word on Twitter after the Knicks won the game.
Hold that “L” ? @ATLHawks https://t.co/1QeDGZuBlE
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) November 8, 2018
And according to the big man, he’s totally fine, thanks to his avid wrestling fandom.
That was a scary fall for @Enes_Kanter, but don't worry about him. He's just getting ready for his @WWE career. ? #Knicks pic.twitter.com/JztoffnfNU
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) November 8, 2018
All in all, it’s a good thing that Kanter is OK and that he was able to make light of the situation. Still not a great look for the social media team over in Atlanta, though.
