keynote wrote:badinage wrote:So Ms. Beal likes Chris Miller, Jason Smith, and Drew Gooden. And has no regard for Kutcher. What’s that about? Seems petty. (Also, she shouldn’t talk about anything other than her man. And even that, she shouldn’t talk about. Who cares? And if Kutcher isn’t allowed to speak about a player IN THE NBA, she, who isn’t in the league and has no platform, shouldn’t be allowed to dump on a broadcaster. Who only, night after night, extols her husband and pumps up his worth.)
Oof, this is a bad take. "She shouldn't talk about." She can talk about whatever and whoever she likes. She's even allowed to be petty on Twitter -- if she think it's fun, or if she thinks it advances her personal brand, or both.
Kutcher, OTOH, is an employee with a specific job that traditionally precludes him from taking unprompted pot shots at opposing teams' players. There's a reason why you rarely see a play-by-play announcer in any sport make waves like this -- even in a sports media landscape where sports punditry and hot takes suck up most of the oxygen. The play-by-play announcer is there to call the action, describe what's beeing seeing, highlight the exciting plays, and tee up the color announcer to provide analysis. Insulting an opposing player isn't just a "faux pas"; it's bad for TV and bad for his employer.
Maybe I'm wrong, and the next generation of play-by-play announcers will try to get their Barstool on while calling the games. But I doubt it.
Her personal brand. Uh huh.
And as for Kutcher, you're ignoring something important. He didn't say this during a broadcast. He wrote it on Twitter. Is his Twitter feed the domain of his employer? Don't think so.
(This comes up again and again in this society -- if there are not RULES, spelled out clearly for all to see, about what IS and IS NOT permissible, and with regard to every possible circumstance, then you have problems. There may be rules that some people think are UNDERSTOOD, but this is not the same as spelled out.)
As for Ms. Beal, she CAN DO whatever she likes. Sure. But she is petty to do it, and even stupid to do it. It weakens her, uh, brand, and it also reflects badly on her husband, who I actually do care about.
