Comparing the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder to Israel did not go over so well.
A Monday op-ed in The Oklahoman, the state’s largest daily newspaper, made that comparison and was quickly sent into limbo.
“On May 18, we mistakenly published a guest opinion piece that did not meet our opinion standards,” the newspaper wrote Tuesday by way of explanation.
“The op-ed has been removed, and we deeply regret any distress this may have caused,” the newspaper wrote.
Although the newspaper sought to nix the op-ed, the internet ensured it was still around.
“It’s NBA Playoffs season, and once again as fans are glued to their televisions. There is something strangely familiar abrew between the online keyboard warriors and the voices of punditry as they respond to the continued dominance of the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Eitan Reshef wrote, according to Yahoo Sports.
“A young, disciplined, strategically crafted organization, impeccably drafted and relentlessly adherent to a culture of selflessness and community, suddenly finds itself resented. The greater the Thunder’s success becomes, the more critics seem determined to diminish it or even root for its demise,” he wrote.
“As both a fiercely proud Oklahoman and a Jew, the parallels between the Thunder and the nation of Israel are difficult to ignore. Neither was supposed to become what it is.”
The op-ed was accompanied by an image of a basketball with the Star of David upon it.
Reshef, a native Oklahoman, is a former advertising agency CEO who lives in Chicago.
“The Thunder are not hated because they somehow gamed the system,” Reshef wrote, The Forward noted.
“They are hated because they mastered it. Israel is not obsessively scrutinized because it failed, but due to its success despite deeply-rooted envy and darker historical motives,” he wrote.
Reshef said the response he received included a flood of personal attacks.
However, he said he had no regrets.
“We can disagree with each other — we should disagree with each other,” he said. “I treasure that value. I’m willing to step up to the plate, talk to anybody. But to make personal attacks on me, as if you know me, or make threats — it’s frightening that that’s the world that we live in right now.”
Executive editor Ray Rivera of The Oklahoman said the op-ed was “mistakenly published because our approval policies were not followed.”
“After further review, our team determined the content did not align with our opinion standards,” the statement said. “We’re strengthening our review process to prevent future errors and deeply regret any distress this may have caused.”
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