Oklahoma Newspaper Deletes Column Comparing Thunder To Israel | Defector

"It's NBA Playoffs season, and once again as fans are glued to their televisions. There is something strangely familiar abrew between the online keyboard warriors and the voices of punditry as they respond to the continued dominance of the Oklahoma City Thunder. A young, disciplined, strategically crafted organization, impeccably drafted and relentlessly adherent to a culture of selflessness and community, suddenly finds itself resented. The greater the Thunder's success becomes, the more critics seem determined to diminish it or even root for its demise."

"You can accept that people will hate your team for some rational or irrational reason, or you can try to argue with all of them and achieve the same level of success as trying to fight the ocean. If you pick the latter option, at least try to make sure your argument doesn't sound insane."

"There are other reasons why a neutral observer might not root for them: the origins of how OKC got an NBA team, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's reliance on drawing fouls, that "What a Pro Wants" commercial. That's just sports writ large: You can accept that people will hate your team for some rational or irrational reason, or you can try to argue with all of them and achieve the same level of success as trying to fight the ocean."

"Actually, it was a guest column; the article was deleted sometime Monday afternoon, hours after it was published. You might understand why when you see the headline: "Like Thunder, Israel is an underdog that has become hated.""

Oklahoma City Thunder success has produced widespread resentment from some observers. Detractors cite factors such as how the team was brought into the NBA, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s tendency to draw fouls, and even a commercial. The piece frames sports hate as common and suggests that trying to argue everyone down is like fighting the ocean. It also notes that a guest opinion column was published and then deleted shortly after, with a headline comparing Israel’s underdog status to the Thunder’s hated status. The opening paragraph describes familiar online and pundit reactions to the Thunder’s continued dominance and attributes criticism to the team’s growing success.

Read at Defector