As many suspected would inevitably happen, the NBA had stepped in and ordered Mark Cuban to start allowing bloggers into the locker room. At last, those with Movable Type software can finally have the opportunity to see Devean George's penis. Cuban, of course, isn't taking this lying down.
In response, Cuban has said he is encouraging ALL bloggers to apply for credentials. You might take this as a positive thing if he weren't saying it with such a smirk.
"Which means we will encourage all bloggers to apply, whether they be someone on blogspot who has been posting for a couple weeks, kids blogging for their middle school Web site or those that work for big companies," wrote Cuban, a blogger himself. "We won't discriminate at all."
That's pretty awesome, actually; Cuban is being a dick to prove a point, but it's a good point: Seriously, then, what IS the difference? It's really just a URL, right? What counts as "credentialed" again? If True Hoop weren't at ESPN, would Henry Abbott be less qualified to come in the locker room?
Predictably, now the Associated Press Sports Editors are mad.
"With all due respect for the potential journalism talent in the middle school ranks, this rebuttal smacks with the tartness of sour grapes," Fannin, managing editor for sports and features at the Kansas City Star wrote in an e-mail. "Is this really the standard the NBA wants to set for blogging?
"We're not asking the Mavericks or Mark Cuban to discriminate," added Fannin, who earlier in his career worked at The News. "We're simply seeking a common-sense distinction between someone who blogs professionally as part of an accredited media's beat coverage and someone who buys a ticket to the game."
So now EVERYBODY's mad. Say what you will about Cuban, but he's no dummy.
NBA Tells Dallas Mavericks To Allow Locker Room Access To Bloggers [Dallas Morning News]