Milwaukee Bucks president Peter Feigin penned an open letter in response to a First Take segment Wednesday where nearly everyone on the panel was unified in their contempt towards possibly travelingΒ to one of theΒ βterrible citiesβ that remainΒ in contention for the NBA Finals.
Feigin questioned when was the last time any of the First Take hosts visited Milwaukee, and offered to give them a personal tour, highlighting its βeclectic and exciting neighborhoods,β and βspectacular Lake Michigan waterfront.βΒ
βThereβs a reason people are moving to this welcoming gem of a city in record numbers,β Feigin wrote. βOh, by the way, Milwaukeans are very nice. Look forward to hearing from you.β
TheΒ First Take crew appearedΒ to be particularly displeased about the possibility of going toΒ Milwaukee next month.Β βDo you really want to be in Milwaukee? Is that where you want to be?,β guest Damien Woody asked, leading to an emphatic βhell noβ response from Stephen A. Smith. Moderator Molly Qerim Rose chimed in, saying she was relieved that her and Max Kellerman werenβt traveling for the Finals because βitβs going to be terrible cities.βΒ
While Kellerman tried to defend Roseβs remarks by saying that she didnβt mean it, Smith doubled down, stating, βI donβt believe Iβve rooted for the Atlanta Hawks or Los Angeles Clippers more in my life.β According to FiveThirtyEight, the Bucks have a 79 percent chance of making it the NBA Finals, as opposed to the Hawksβ odds, which sit at 21 percent with Game 1 scheduled for later tonight.
In 2019,Β Inside the NBAΒ host Ernie Johnson fought back tears while speaking about the opportunity to return to his hometown of Milwaukee to cover the Bucksβ first two home games in theΒ Eastern Conference Finals.Β