You know you might have a problem when the nerds (and we use that phrase lovingly) typing up college basketball stats start to drag you in the game notes.
For Donald Trump and his new White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, introducing the nonsensical term “alternative facts” has led to a lampooning on every level of pop culture and politics. Even the Sports Information Director at the University of Tennessee got in on the act on Monday, adding some blatantly incorrect information to the men’s basketball media notes to poke fun at the leader of the free world.
Tennessee basketball capitalizes on current events by putting its own "alternative facts" in its game notes pic.twitter.com/clXsWlVVdP
— Steve Megargee (@stevemegargee) January 23, 2017
The Associated Press actually wrote a story about the game notes, so you know they’re real.
One note had former Tennessee coach Ray Mears using an iPhone to time the Vols’ possessions during the 1966-67 season. Another mentioned how former Vols star Allan Houston, who enrolled at Tennessee in 1989, saw a dramatic rise in his number of Twitter followers during his college career.
The other item said Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander had a wingspan of 144 inches – it’s actually 89 ¼ inches – and that he had never heard of basketball before watching the Michael J. Fox movie “Teen Wolf” his senior year of high school. Alexander, the younger brother of WNBA player and former Syracuse star Kayla Alexander, actually started playing basketball his junior year of high school.
VCU’s men’s basketball game notes also featured some Trump humor, this time focusing on his constant need to brag about or overstate the greatness of something.
VCU's SID should win some kind of award for this. pic.twitter.com/1xYp7L2c1k
— Mike Watts (@MikeWattsOnAir) January 17, 2017
All of this is very in-the-know and probably a bit silly, but it does highlight the growing impact that political moment has had on the basketball world. That it’s also been mentioned on broadcasts around the sports world goes to show you just how many people are paying attention this is getting.
Shoutout to the @NBATV "alternative stats" for last night's LAL-DAL game. pic.twitter.com/nBZfCTot5w
— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) January 23, 2017
Even NBA coaches are getting in on the joke. Gregg Popovich openly poked fun at Trump in an injury report and Steve Kerr made some jokes with the media about Trump’s inability to use facts when making light of his own playing career.
There are plenty of bad stats out there in sports, but few seem willing to accept outright lies as the truth in the White House.
(via Extra Mustard)
