The Washington Wizards’ paranoia has cost a reporter the right to cover the team.
Neil Dalal, who writers for a Washington, D.C.-based website, The Hoop District, was banned by the team for a tweet.
Earlier in the season, the Washington Wizards put up a promotional billboard that included several young players on the team. The billboard did not include Tyus Jones, a player the Wizards got as part of a three-team trade with the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics.
Dalal shared on X (formerly twitter) that Jones wasn’t included on the billboard, which seemed odd because all indications were that the team was going to sign him to a long-term contract at some point. So, Jones not being in the photo certainly brought up a question.
Jones obviously agreed, because he retweeted Dalal’s tweet.
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Washington Wizards pull the credentials from reporter because of tweet
This transgression of sharing an observation got Dalal banned from the team, as it pulled his press credentials.
Of course, Dalal wasn’t the one who put up the billboard. That was done by the team. So why would the team ban someone for observing something it did?
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Dalal apologized for the tweet, which he shouldn’t have done, saying on X: “Last month, I tweeted an observation that I quickly regretted. I have always strived to be player-friendly, and never meant to offend anyone, but I dropped the ball.”
Not taking accountability or not wanting to be open with its fans appears to be a trend for the Wizards. Ever since the announcement in December that the team had reached an agreement for a new arena complex in the Potomac Yard area of Northern Virgina, no representative of the team has taken any questions about the move.