Nets’ Billionaire Owner Supports Pablo Torre Amid Racist Backlash Following LeBron James Helicopter Investigation

Joe Tsai openly backed Pablo Torre amid LeBron James investigation backlash.

Nets’ Billionaire Owner Supports Pablo Torre Amid Racist Backlash Following LeBron James Helicopter Investigation

Joe Tsai and Pablo Torre (Image credits - Forbes and Variety)

LeBron James‘ partnership with Fanatics has generated a lot of noise in the NBA world, and it has caught the attention of Pulitzer Prize-winning ESPN journalist Pablo Torre. The renowned sports investigator admitted that he and his team are looking into the partnership between the two parties.

After the 2025-26 campaign, James shocked everyone by announcing he would be parting ways with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer. Over the next few weeks, the entire NBA world went into a frenzy as he was linked to a number of teams.

In the end, the King joined the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal. Since his arrival in Philly, many questions have circulated about where he would live, as he had no prior connections to the city.

After his move to the 76ers, it was reported that James would be based in New York and would commute between the two cities via a helicopter. Based on calculations, the regular commute would cost James around $800k per season.

While he may be a billionaire, he did take a massive pay cut to join the 76ers. However, it was later reported that the four-time champion would have free, unlimited access to Fanatics’ helicopter under a deal he signed with them in 2024. Hence, questions were raised about the travel arrangement, as well as possible salary cap circumvention.

After confirming that he and his team would investigate it, Torre received a lot of hate and racist comments all over the internet. Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai criticized the backlash and supported Torre on X.

Pablo Torre is a proud Asian-American and an excellent journalist. He has done extraordinary work reporting on the NBA. @lockerroomla I don’t know who you are but this blatant racism is despicable and you should be called out for who you are.

Joe Tsai on X

Torre is no stranger to NBA deals. He was the journalist who exposed Kawhi Leonard‘s hidden sponsorship deals with the Los Angeles Clippers to circumvent the salary cap. Tsai has supported fellow Asian-Americans in the past.

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Fans react to Joe Tsai’s response to racist post towards Pablo Torre

When Pablo Torre confirmed that he would be looking into the matter, he also revealed that a number of NBA owners contacted him, as it attracted interest from people inside the league. While he didn’t reveal any names, Tsai may have been one of them.

After Joe Tsai showed support to Torre, fans were quick to react to the post on social media.

Most fans supported Tsai’s post and called out the racism, as Torre is just doing his job. However, some called out the Nets owner for his actions towards Kyrie Irving in the past.

Carmelo Anthony slammed Pablo Torre and NBA owners over LeBron James’ helicopter controversy

LeBron James’ decision to commute by helicopter makes perfect sense, as it would cut his travel time from two hours to 45 minutes. However, the whole travel arrangement has garnered a lot of attention.

LeBron James
LeBron James (Image credits – Yahoo Sports)

After Torre revealed that a number of team owners approached him regarding the whole situation, James’ former Lakers teammate and close friend Carmelo Anthony defended the King and questioned the scrutiny.

Pablo, what you talking about? The owners are snitching. And I can say you are in cahoots, because you are getting compensated for going to get these stories. Tell us who the owners are. Because if we were saying, as a player, we’re saying something about the owners, that owner would find out who was saying that. And we would be in a situation where we could be f***ed up.

Carmelo Anthony on 7PM in Brooklyn podcast

Anthony accused Torre and the owners of supplying information that unnecessarily interferes with James’ personal business. He believes the owners should come out publicly rather than speaking anonymously.

He also noted that if a player spoke about their team owner anonymously, the owners would find out and punish the player severely. As a result, Anthony was frustrated by the anonymity.

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