The Oklahoman Issues Apology For Thunder, Israel Column

The Oklahoman has one one of the top publication in the country for a long time and has shared plenty of acclaimed op-eds in its time. But an article that (briefly) went up comparing the Oklahoma City Thunder to the nation of Israel is not going over the way the outlet wanted it.

It was businessman Eitan Reshef who wrote an opinion piece entitled "Like Thunder, Israel is an underdog that has become hated," which the publication put up and shared on social media earlier this week. In it, Reshef argued that the growing hatred that NBA fans have for the Thunder mirrors the backlash that Israel receives in the international community. Reshef attempted to frame the Thunder and Israel as successful entities that the rest of the world struggles or refuses to accept.

Given the political climate, it's probably not surprising that the backlash was fierce and the op-ed was subsequently pulled. But rather than try to bury the story and never speak on it, The Oklahoman issued an editor's note saying that they "mistakenly published a guest opinion piece" that didn't meet their opinion standards and apologized for "any distress this may have caused."

“On May 18, we mistakenly published a guest opinion piece that did not meet our opinion standards. The op-ed has been removed, and we deeply regret any distress this may have caused.”