Longtime NBA commentator Marv Albert sparked serious outrage this week with his comments on Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Despite more than 60 years of sports-related work, Albert is not immune from criticism.
During TNT’s broadcast of Game 7 between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks this past weekend, Albert drew the ire of fans on social media with his description of Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
What specifically did they dislike?
Albert’s use of the term “property.”
You can’t make this up. They just announced something about George Floyd and Juneteenth during the Net vs. Bucks game, and maybe a minute later, Marv Albert calls Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant “valuable property.”
No…I’m not overthinking or overreacting. pic.twitter.com/DrC70MF01L
— L E F T, PhD ⚫️ (@LeftSentThis) June 20, 2021
Marv Albert calling Kevin Durant and Giannis “valuable property” on Juneteenth don’t sit right. pic.twitter.com/tMHr06s349
— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) June 20, 2021
Marv Albert referring to Giannis and KD as “valuable property” really doesn’t sit right with me
— Bryan Reeves (@ReevesReviews) June 20, 2021
btw surprisingly few takes about marv albert calling 2 of the NBA’s MVPs valuable property yesterday on the broadcast. i personally think Grant was like “WTF” in his head because he repeated the sentiment while clearly not saying property
— biuepac (@aKlamBake) June 20, 2021
Former NBA center Etan Thomas also spoke out.
Attention all NBA commentators Presidents, GM’s, Governors and everyone else: Don’t ever refer to a Black Man as “valuable property” like Marv Albert did last night when referring to KD and Giannis. It’s beyond disrespectful and insulting pic.twitter.com/7MF0h4nNBl
— Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) June 20, 2021
Albert will retire at the end of the season, so it is unlikely he will face any sort of serious blowback from what transpired.
This isn’t the first time a commentator has come under fire for using this sort of language.
ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan faced controversy for something similar. Since nothing substantial actually happened to her, though – it just reaffirms that Albert will walk away from this incident unscathed too.
Yikes. https://t.co/rP9DViKpei
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 14, 2021
Related: Kevin Durant’s Surprising Reaction To Nets’ Collapse vs Bucks
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
