ESPN posts a fake video, misrepresents Damian Lillard's words / News - Basketnews.com

ESPN's SportsCenter account published a post with a highly edited video of Damian Lillard, where multiple important details were changed without a disclaimer, misrepresenting the player's words. The company later released a vague statement explaining the situation.

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Damian Lillard made his debut for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night. After the game, a controversial post was made by an international sports media giant.

Damian Lillard

Team:Milwaukee BucksPosition:PGAge:33Height:191 cmWeight:88 kgBirth place:Oakland, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

ESPN's SportsCenter account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted a video of Lillard supposedly talking about his arrival in Milwaukee, saying that he didn't come to the club to waste his time.

However, the video was fake. ESPN took a video from the NBA bubble back in 2020 and digitally edited it to make it look like the post-game interview was done after the last game against the Sixers.

Lillard's Portland Trail Blazers shirt was changed to a Bucks shirt, the on-court referee was removed, and a Bucks logo was added on the court. On top of that, an ESPN logo was stamped on the microphone, even though the interview was done by TNT.

There was no disclaimer mentioned in the post that the video had been fabricated or edited in any way.

This technique is often used to drive post engagement but is usually employed by smaller or distinctively parody accounts. This time, it was the biggest sports company in the world that did it.

Following the severe backlash, ESPN released a statement through Sports Media Watch:

We occasionally look to connect sports moments of the past with contemporary imagery and storylines as part of our social content. While it was never our intention to misrepresent anything for fans, we completely recognize how this instance caused confusion.

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