Legendary former basketball coach George Karl drew the ire of OutKick’s Clay Travis when he called out the site’s coverage of the NBA.

After the news broke about San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich signing a massive contract extension, OutKick published an article calling out Popovich for taking “full advantage of capitalism” while also being an “America-hater.” Popovich, who served five years in the U.S. Air Force, has been critical of the country in regard to gun control and a number of other social issues.

Karl didn’t take kindly to OutKick’s characterization of him.

“Pop doesn’t hate America,” Karl tweeted in response, “he just hates Trump loving aholes like @ClayTravis.”

Pop doesn’t hate America – he just hates Trump Loving Aholes like @ClayTravis https://t.co/BXhhbwseBL

— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) July 9, 2023

A few hours later, he continued to single out Travis.

“Here are truths for those that let BS sources like @Outkick and @ClayTravis spin lies,” Karl said. “Only 25% of Americans have a positive view of Trump. 75% think he’s done at least 1 illegal or unethical thing. And the [2023] NBA playoffs were the most watched for the League in 5 years.”

Here are truths for those that let BS sources like @Outkick and @ClayTravis spin lies –

Only 25% of Americans have a positive view of Trump. 75% think he’s done at least 1 illegal or unethical thing.

And the ‘23 NBA playoffs were the most watched for the League in 5 years.

— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) July 10, 2023

On Monday morning, Travis finally responded.

“Good morning, George,” he said. “These kinds of Tweets are why the NBA has lost 80% of its NBA Finals audience over the past 25 years. Totally nonsensical, untrue, & insulting to basketball fans regardless of their politics. Here’s the data for you.”

Included in the tweet was a link to an article Travis wrote claiming the NBA Finals’ decreased ratings were a direct result of the league embracing social justice movements.

The 2023 Finals, as Travis noted, averaged 11.64 million viewers across its five games. While it was among the least-watched Finals in decades, the rest of the playoffs fared well. According to Sports Media Watch, the 5.12 million average was the highest the playoffs had seen since 2018, and the third-highest in the last decade.

Additionally, Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets managed to attract 8.38 million viewers. It was the most watched conference finals Game 3 across all networks since 2011, and a 55% increase from 2011’s Western Conference Finals Game 3 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns.

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