Chapter 159 Behind the Scenes

Fox Sports had always been a media outlet that loved stirring up trouble, and they had targeted Tang Tian before, so it wasn't surprising that they broke these news stories.

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that this wasn't as simple as it seemed on the surface.

After all, to have so much "dirt" exposed all at once was a clear attempt to smear Tang Tian's name!

Fans were buzzing on social media.

Some were discussing the authenticity of these accusations, some were declaring they were switching from fans to neutral observers, or even outright haters, and others were defending Tang Tian, saying these were all minor issues.

Social media wasn't shutting down tonight; the fans were living in it.

However, Tang Tian was unaware of all this. It was a rare gathering, and he and Duncan and the others had celebrated until they were thoroughly drunk.

The next day, when he woke up with a pounding headache, he was roused by his phone ringing.

He picked it up and saw it was Fagan calling.

"Tang, you're in big trouble!"

Fagan was frantic, indicating the urgency of the situation.

After a brief conversation, Tang Tian learned what had happened after he had passed out drunk the night before.

This was clearly not good news.

He prided himself on having lived an upright life since his time travel, without the kind of scandalous history that Kobe, James, and others had.

But no one can walk by the river without getting their shoes wet.

Whether it was the one-on-one matches he played to earn krypton gold when he first time-traveled, or the two-year contract he insisted on to maximize his krypton gold value.

He hadn't thought that far ahead at the time, and now people were using these things as ammunition against him.

But he didn't panic. He simply told Fagan to hold off on making any statements.

After hanging up, he noticed he had several missed calls, from Pelicans executives, from Stevens, from some friends, including Kobe and the others.

But the most calls were from his assistant, Carl.

As a key figure in his team, Carl was the most worried person right now.

After all, Tang Tian had never faced such a crisis before.

Tang Tian returned Carl's call and said roughly the same thing he'd told Fagan: don't panic and don't say anything, wait for him to return.

On the way back, Tang Tian replied to the people who cared about him, telling them not to worry and that he could handle it.

New Orleans wasn't far from San Antonio, and he returned to his manor in a little over an hour.

Carl was already waiting for him in the living room of his manor.

He looked travel-worn and anxious.

"Could it be a reporter you argued with at a press conference? Or maybe an executive at Fox? Should I contact someone I know at Fox Sports? Or get them connected, and we'll spend some money to have these news reports deleted?"

Carl bombarded him with questions; this was the first time he had been so agitated.

"Don't do any of that, they'll just use it against us."

Tang Tian stopped Carl from taking any action.

"This isn't a big deal. These things Fox has exposed won't have much of an impact on me."

Tang Tian's tone was calm, genuinely unfazed.

"But the NCAA..."

"The NCAA isn't a problem either. I didn't use my NCAA player status, and the amounts were too small. There won't be a real investigation."

Although Tang Tian hadn't considered everything in the long term, he had paid attention to some details.

The largest sum of money he earned was from a private transaction with a Miss Song, cash, with no records to trace.

Even if they found Miss Song, he would simply deny it.

As for the other news, they were even less significant.

In reality, these so-called black marks, however numerous they seemed, were just nitpicking and forced accusations.

Tang Tian's calmness reassured Carl. Once he had calmed down as well, he realized that things were indeed as Tang Tian had said.

These things weren't insignificant, but they weren't really a big deal either.

And even if they were, could they be worse than Kobe's Eagle County incident?

The Eagle County incident hadn't destroyed Kobe.

Tang Tian's so-called black history was like a tickle.

"Then I'll go handle this information."

After regaining his composure, Carl was once again the reliable assistant.

Contact former University of Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun and have him issue a statement proving that Tang Tian did not violate team rules during his college days.

If the NCAA insisted on investigating, let them investigate. Even if those old, stale issues were investigated, they wouldn't amount to much.

Have Fagan issue a statement that Tang Tian didn't speak during contract negotiations, that Fagan negotiated with the Spurs.

This was also true. Although Tang Tian instructed Fagan to do it, as long as Fagan didn't admit it, the negotiations had nothing to do with Tang Tian.

Have Demps issue a statement stating that Tang Tian did not interfere with the team's management decisions, nor did he offer any opinions on the Whiteside matter.

This kind of thing, which simply didn't exist as long as Demps didn't admit it, was the easiest to solve.

In no time at all, Carl took care of all these details.

Tang Tian nodded after listening; this was his original chief assistant.

"We need to work harder on information security in the future. This time, it wasn't Fox Sports who made the move."

After listening, Tang Tian said.

"Not Fox's people?"

Carl was puzzled. Tang Tian's words meant that Fox Sports was just a front, and there was a mastermind behind the scenes.

"Who have I offended recently?"

Tang Tian asked rhetorically.

Carl thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead, realizing immediately.

Adam Silver!

Tang Tian had publicly dissed Silver before, but in the end, he only received a fine of $25,000 from the league.

This was something no one had expected.

At the time, he thought Silver had had a change of heart, but now it seemed things weren't that simple.

Tang Tian then briefly told Carl about his conversation with Nurse.

After listening, Carl completely understood.

Silver was forced to make that ruling.

The league president was forced to make a decision, and Silver must have been burning with anger.

If he couldn't do it openly, he could only play dirty.

The relationship between the league and the media was very close. It would be very easy for Silver to have Fox Sports publish some reports smearing Tang Tian.

Silver might even have more tricks up his sleeve.

As long as Tang Tian was smeared and his influence reduced, then when he brought these things up in the committee again, there wouldn't be so many teams opposing him.

"I was wondering why there's been so much news about James Harden lately, and all of it so positive."

Carl also grasped some recent information about the league at this time.

Smearing Tang Tian, then promoting Harden. Silver's operation was pretty slick. After all, he had been in the league's top echelons for more than a decade, with a whole set of tactics.

"I won't sit still and wait for death. My war with him has already begun."

Tang Tian said calmly, but with a determined look in his eyes.

He wasn't afraid of Silver taking action. As long as he acted, there would be something to grab onto.

Fox Sports, huh? Close relationship, huh?