After the two semifinals of March Madness, when many people on the Internet were still immersed in emotions and discussions about the semifinals, an article titled "Revealing Secrets" was quietly posted in the "Washington Post" and published in Driven by some thoughtful people, it began to show considerable influence.
This revealing article titled "It's gratifying that dark horse Memphis reached the semifinals, but they are facing serious internal strife in their locker room." It was a little weird to be posted in the "Washington Post."
Generally speaking, media such as the "Washington Post" rarely pay attention to news in the sports field. In the sports circle, ESPN, CBS and TNT are all very famous and professional media.
Serious fans also pay attention to these sports media, instead of using a microscope to find news about their favorite stars in the "Washington Post".
It is really difficult to find a piece of basketball news among the huge amount of social news!
But just such a slightly weird article, after being published in the "Washington Post", immediately caused an uproar in America!
Because the object of this article is the University of Memphis, which entered the finals last night, or rather Li Kaiming.
The signed author of this article is a man named Lawrence. He stated in the article that he carefully watched the matchup between Memphis and Butler in the semifinals, and then clearly pointed out in the article that although Memphis won, Memphis faced Serious locker room crisis.
More specifically, it is a crisis of trust between Li Kaiming and other players.
Lawrence's analysis seems to be sound and reasonable. He starts with Li Kaiming's background as a water cooler player, interspersed with several paragraphs describing the fierce competition among college players. Although he does not directly point out the gap between Li Kaiming and his teammates on the Memphis Tigers, But it also implicitly guides readers to start thinking in that direction.
Everyone likes to associate and gossip. It can be said that the current Memphis Tigers are very popular in the entire America. It is very normal for fans to want to know the specific situation in the locker room.
After that, Lawrence also used the most professional data analysis in basketball analysis. He collected the number of shots and playing time of Tigers players in every game since Li Kaiming started, and finally came to a conclusion:
Since Li Kaiming changed from the water cooler to the starter, he has ranked first in the team in playing time and number of shots!
Lawrence directly stated in the article that such an arrangement was extremely inappropriate and a serious dereliction of duty by the coach!
The NCAA is a league that emphasizes team over individual. However, at the University of Memphis, this truth is completely reversed. There is a guy who comes out of the water cooler and directly towers over the entire team!
At the end of the article, Lawrence also said that Pastner at this time has become Li Kaiming's puppet, and the playing time of everyone on the Tigers is firmly controlled by Li Kaiming.
As for the most exciting part of the article, they are the several photos Lawrence posted in the article.
That's what the rest of the Tigers looked like after a few unexpected shots from Kai Ming Lee in the final five minutes of the last game.
The expressions of Kemp and others were cut out, and after zooming in, you can clearly see the surprise and dissatisfaction in their expressions.
As soon as such a so-called revealing article with pictures and text taken out of context was published, it immediately caused an uproar in America's public opinion circle!
Before this article was published, the Memphis Tigers were a dark horse team that defied the odds and fought hard to unite. After the article went viral, most people felt a strong sense of sympathy for the rest of the Tigers!
"Why should we give the ball to a yellow-skinned monkey? Isn't it good to train our country's own players?"
"I don't know if Pastner took the wrong medicine. I would rather trust such a ball tyrant than other better players!"
"Shouldn't the most unlucky person be Elliott Williams? He was the absolute core of the Tigers. Since Li Kaiming started, he has lost his core status. I can guarantee that if Pastner puts If the ball is given to Williams, he can still become the favorite for the No. 1 pick!"
…
If online public opinion is dominated by sympathy and pity for other members of the Tigers, then the overwhelming majority is abuse and attack on Li Kaiming.
Last night, Li Kaiming was still an inspirational player with the label of counterattack, but he completely changed after one night.
"You yellow-skinned monkey, can you go back to your own country?"
"You are selfish because of your skin. In a competition that emphasizes teamwork, the presence of athletes like you is simply an insult to the sport!"
"America welcomes every kind person, but not selfish people like you!"
"The road has turned dark. I liked you quite a lot and thought you were very inspiring. I didn't expect you to be such a person. I was wrong about you!"
…
Comments like this took over Li Kaiming’s Twitter comment area in just a few hours after the article went viral.
The funny thing is that although Li Kaiming seems to have become a public enemy at this time, his number of Twitter followers has actually increased!
Public opinion is still fermenting. Such a huge public relations crisis is facing the Memphis Tigers. Even if they don't pay attention to public opinion, they have to stand up at this time!
The official account of the University of Memphis immediately stood up to support the Tigers and Li Kaiming: We will always support you! We are a family!
The official attitude of the University of Memphis obviously could not extinguish the anger. Seeing the attitude of the University of Memphis, spectators who did not know the truth began to attack the University of Memphis in droves.
"Why does an American college student stand with a Chinese American? Where is your ass?"
"I suspect that Li Kaiming has bribed the University of Memphis' board of trustees. I suggest a strict investigation into the school's athletic department to see if there is anyone in it who is related to Li Kaiming!"
"Oh my God, Li Kaiming controls the University of Memphis! America is finished!"
…
The University of Memphis’ tweet did not reverse public opinion, but rather the trend intensified.
Therefore, in such a tense atmosphere, everyone's eyes were fixed on the pre-match press conference on April 5.
There was such a big movement on the Internet that Pastner and the Tigers couldn't have missed it.
Even if they turn off social media and don't understand the situation outside, reporters will still take the initiative to ask questions at the press conference.
With such great popularity, if you give up digging easily, can you still be a reporter?
…
Oregon Neck Headquarters.
The red-haired woman, Gina, walked into the supervisor's office with a high body, twisting her plump buttocks.
Karl, the man in a suit, smiled when he saw Gina coming in.
"Gina, why are you here?"
Gina walked straight to Karl's side, and then sat directly in Karl's arms!
Karl only felt something soft pressing against a certain part of his body, and his mouth immediately went dry.
Gina smiled charmingly, "I had dinner with the editor-in-chief of the Washington Post yesterday..."
Karl thought for a moment, a smile flashed on his face, and then quickly disappeared.
"Did you ask them to post that article?"
Gina stood up and said, "I can't stand the arrogance of that Chinese boy. This is just a show of force..."
Karl raised his eyebrows, then crossed his legs, "If it was just this article, it shouldn't cause such a big commotion, right?"
A hint of cunning flashed in Gina's eyes, "I just used the power of netizens a little bit..."
Karl suddenly realized that no wonder it became so popular in a short period of time. It turned out that Gina hired Internet trolls!
A woman's heart is like a needle in the sea...
Thinking of this, even Carl's spine felt a little chilly!
[First update today, thank you all for your support! Please vote~]
