National Basketball Association

Mavericks lift credential ban for ESPN's Marc Stein, Tim MacMahon

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Dallas Mavericks have lifted their ban ESPN’s Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon for this weekend’s games at American Airlines Center as owner Mark Cuban believed the team opted for an automated report of the team's games.

“We are appreciative that ESPN will not commit to Mavs fans and all NBA fans with links to local and team provided coverage of every NBA game,” Cuban said in a statement. “This will assure all NBA fans that they will find team specific game reporting for every game of their favorite teams on ESPN. I am appreciative for all the support, help and consideration that John Skipper of ESPN and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver provided towards this agreement.”

The team did not credential Stein and McMahon for last Friday’s loss to the Trail Blazers or Sunday’s overtime win over the Bucks. Both reporters have covered the NBA for an extended period of time and serve as national reporters for ESPN.

ESPN president John Skipper issued the following statement:

“There have been several conversations relative to the concerns Mark has raised. Mark and I both agree that content written by individuals on site is much better. To be clear, ESPN has never contemplated automated reporting for our NBA coverage. We remain committed to first-person reporting on the NBA. As we did last year, we plan to continue to be present at most Dallas Mavericks home games. When we are not in the building, our game recaps going forward will continue to utilize AP first-person reports. In all cases, in order for fans to be able to access more game coverage of their favorite team, we will now link to team sites, such as Mvs.com, in our game recaps. I appreciate the role Commissioner Silver played in reaching this resolution.”

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