In a stunning announcement made by team owner Mark Cuban on Sunday, two of ESPN's well-respected reporters, Tim MacMahon and Marc Stein, had their credentials revoked by the Dallas Mavericks and won't be allowed to cover their games this season.
The reason why the team chose to revoke their credentials is still unclear as Cuban did not elaborate on the situation of the two.
“It's between us and ESPN.”
Stein is one of the network's lead NBA reporters and MacMahon used to cover the Mavericks as a beat reporter. Both were not involved in any rumors or controversies in the past which added more mystery to the franchise's decision. One thing that was made clear was that they are not banned from the American Airlines Center but won't be allowed to cover the team as members of the press.
Cuban didn't give reasons for Stein & McMahon media ban: “They’re not banned from the building. They can still buy a ticket.” #ESPN #NBA
— Art Garcia (@ArtGarcia92) November 7, 2016
ESPN's spokeperson, Josh Krulewitz, released a statement following Cuban's announcement and stressed on their commitment to the league and to the team.
“We’re committed to thoroughly covering the Mavs and the NBA,”
The Professional Basketball Writers Association also released a statement that read:
“We are deeply troubled by the Dallas Mavericks’ move to revoke the credentials of two respected, longtime NBA journalists. The Mavericks’ move is without merit. We call on the Mavericks to reverse their decision or for NBA officials to intervene to allow Tim MacMahon and Marc Stein to continue their work.”
Cuban also added today that the ban extends to all ESPN web reporters.
It will be something worth monitoring in the next couple of days if Cuban and the network will reveal the real reason for this very surprising development.
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