nba playoffs

NBA writer slammed after suggesting Toronto Raptors should be barred from playoffs

Toronto Raptors fans are well versed in feelings of being snubbed by the NBA, the only Canadian market in the league (you had your chance, Vancouver) often sidelined in the league discourse and subject to questionable calls.

But a new claim from a well-known NBA writer really takes the cake, suggesting to his over 71K Twitter followers that the Toronto Raptors should be made ineligible for the upcoming playoffs, where the team has all but secured a seed in the running.

It all started with an article on ESPN.com discussing the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers player vaccination status, as those are the teams most likely to face off against the Raptors in a first round playoff matchup.

The story states that players from the Celtics and 76ers declined to share their vaccination status, hinting that the teams could be short-handed for road games played in Toronto due to Canada's federal border vaccination mandate.

Senior NBA writer at Hoopswire.com, Sam Amico, fired back with a proposed solution to this perceived problem, one that has angered not just an entire nation of basketball fans, but pretty much all of basketball Twitter.

"Easy fix: Toronto ineligible for playoffs or has to play home playoff games in US. Don't punish US teams because of another country's rules," the tweet reads.

The responses were swift and harsh.

Fans are claiming a much easier fix would be to actually get straggling players vaccinated, while others are pointing out the twisted logic of punishing an entire team due to a few misinformed players on U.S. teams.

Meanwhile, Raptors players have to provide proof of vaccination to enter the States, making the argument even more ridiculous.

Twitter never forgets, and it didn't take long for people to dredge up some of Amico's past crappy takes.

Apparently, the writer has even been meme-ified for questionable commentary.

In perhaps the harshest dagger thrown Amico's way, one even asked, "where were you on january 6th?," a shot at his seemingly anti-vax mandate stance.

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