Utah
The story behind the Utah Jazz’s elite social media troll job
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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah assistant coach Sean Sheldon strolled out onto the Delta Center court for pregame warmups with an interesting shirt Sunday.
The shirt? A tee with the team’s equipment manager, Adam Klauke, smiling face and “GOAT” written underneath it.
Usually, a coach’s pregame attire is meaningless. Most of the time coaches wear the official Jazz get-up or another random shirt from the organization. This one, though, felt intentional.
The shirt was a callback to a viral post from the Jazz social team following Utah’s win over Milwaukee in early January. The idea for that post came from one strange quote.
When talking about his team’s struggles, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said everyone needed to be better — and he meant everybody.
“It starts from the equipment manager — he has to wash our clothes better,” Antetokounmpo said.
Antetokounmpo probably didn’t mean to throw shade at the equipment manager, though. He was mostly speaking in generalities and used some very specific examples; the guy who handles all the equipment just so happened to get the random call out.
But it was hard to ignore the ridiculousness of the quote.
Those comments came only a few days before the Jazz played the Bucks in Milwaukee in early January. So as the Jazz social team thought of ways to frame a potential Jazz win, their own equipment manager was brought to the table.
With a post featuring Klauke, social media manager Gabby Hundman had one question: “Am I even allowed to?”
The answer was an overwhelming yes.
Hundman reached out to Klauke for permission for such a post, but “I think he thought I was kidding. He was like, ‘Haha, OK’”
Still, he sent Hundman a selfie of him at the Bucks home arena to use if necessary. That, though, was not needed.
As luck would have it, a few games earlier, content producer Hayley Mettenet had grabbed a clip of Klauke on the court following a Jazz win. It was accidental, but it was exactly what the team was looking for. Not only was there “Jazz win” sparkling in the arena, but Kluake was also holding game balls — yet another callback to another Antetokounmpo incident this season.
“Having the game balls in it was just a little too perfect, and Klauke is just precious in that clip,” Hundman said. “It was honestly like such a perfect clip.”
There was just one worry: Would people get the joke?
“I was a little nervous about people not knowing what it was,” Hundman said. “Internally and dedicated Jazz fans know who he is, but our audience has become so international that I was like, are people gonna get this? But it was honestly just aligned with NBA Twitter so perfectly.”
Even if people didn’t get it, it was easily explained. Soon, it was an inside joke that all NBA fans could appreciate — including fans of the Bucks.
“I can’t even be mad, posting the equipment manager is hilarious,” one Bucks fan tweeted.
Heck, even players thought it was fun. When the Jazz were in New Orleans last month, Klauke was stopped by a suddenly excited Pelicans player.
“You’re the guy from the tweet!” the player said.
Klauke quickly texted Hundman, “This is your fault.”
To which Hundman replied, “Or I made you a star.”
Or as Sheldon’s shirt proclaimed, a “GOAT.”
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Penalties to be enforced if Trump’s face covered on national park passes, reports say
SALT LAKE CITY — Those using a new national park pass who want to enjoy Utah’s “Mighty Five” better do so with President Donald Trump’s face perfectly intact, or you might pay a literal price.
The new annual park passes, which debuted on Jan. 1, feature Trump’s image alongside that of George Washington. At the same time as the release, the Department of the Interior reportedly updated its rules to ensure Trump’s face remains free and clear.
According to the Washington Post, the updated “Void if Altered” policy prohibits anyone from defacing the pass or covering up any images or information on the cards. Visitors found by rangers to have altered a pass by any means will be ordered to return it to its original condition or possibly be charged a regular entrance fee.
SFGate reported the policy originally prohibited any alteration of the signature portion of the pass, with the updated policy including the front of the card, with a warning that “writing on it or adding stickers or other coverings” is no longer allowed.
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Many believe the updated policy is in direct response to the large pushback over the inclusion of Trump, leaving people to share creative ways to hide the president’s image from passes, including stickers and sleeves.
Along with the suggestions on how to hide Trump’s image, a nonprofit environmental group has filed a lawsuit claiming its design did not comply with legislation that requires public participation in the selection.
Utah
Two killed, six wounded in shooting outside Mormon church in Utah
Two people were killed, and at least six were wounded when gunfire erupted outside a funeral at a Mormon church in Utah on Wednesday night, according to authorities and reports.
Eight people were hit by gunfire when shots rang out outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Redwood Road in Salt Lake City around 7:30 p.m., Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson Glen Mills told the Salt Lake City Tribune.
Two people were killed, and six people were injured in the shooting that occurred outside in the church’s parking lot as dozens were attending a funeral service inside.
Of the six wounded, three individuals are in critical condition, the Salt Lake City Police Department posted on X. All of the victims were adults.
There were no suspects in custody as of late Wednesday night, and it is not immediately clear if there were multiple gunmen involved. A motive was also unknown.
However, police said they have obtained solid leads in the investigation and are working to locate individuals involved in the shooting.
“We believe this was not a random incident,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd told reporters.
The shooting was not believed to be targeting a religion, Redd clarified.
Roughly 100 law enforcement vehicles swarmed the area in the aftermath of the gunfire as helicopters flew overhead.
The area around the Mormon church remained closed into the evening as authorities urged the public to stay clear of the still active scene.
“This should never have happened outside a place of worship. This should never have happened outside a celebration of life,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
The Salt Lake City Police Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The incident remains under investigation.
With Post wires.
Utah
Kevin Love Admits He Didn’t See Jazz Trade Coming
The Utah Jazz’s experiment to bring in 18-year league veteran Kevin Love thus far into the 2025-26 campaign has been a pretty solid success in the first two-plus months of the season.
Love has been a positive voice in the locker room as the most tenured NBA veteran on the roster, he’s been vocal about enjoying his time and role with the organization, and for his time on the floor throughout the first 30 or so games of the regular season, he’s nestled into a consistent rotational player as the Jazz’s backup center as Walker Kessler has been out with a shoulder injury.
But when he first arrived in Utah via a three-team trade from the Miami Heat, packed within the deal that sent John Collins to the LA Clippers, Love didn’t quite know what to expect out of his experience; he didn’t even anticipate being traded to the Jazz in the first place.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I got here, but I’ve been very pleasantly surprised from everything, from ownership, and Ryan Smith to the front office to the coaching staff, players all the way through,” Love said of the Jazz on The Old Man and the Three. “It’s been a blessing in my 18th year to be a part of this team and some place, I mean, you never know where you’re going to end up.”
“I did not expect to be traded but as far as a landing spot goes and just saying, yeah, so many people are saying ‘Oh what if it doesn’t work out? What if it doesn’t work out?’ I’m like ‘What if it does?’, right?And I think just adding value whether I’m playing or not is something that’s given me a lot of happiness and a lot of joy this late in my career. And I think that has allowed me to see a lot of the good and what this team has been able to bring and move forward.”
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Love’s value stretches both on and off the floor for the Jazz, which makes sense for why the veteran big man has been loving his time since being on the roster. The 2016 NBA champion was vocal before the season about his desire to be a value add for wherever that may be, including Utah, and he’s been able to carve out just the right role for himself at this point in his career.
During his 20 games played for the Jazz this season, Love has averaged 7.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and shooting 41.1% from the field in just over 17 minutes a night when he plays, and has proven he can still be a guy worthy of a few minutes down the rotation to fill out an NBA frontcourt, as he has for the year in Utah so far.
It remains to be seen just how long Love’s time in Utah will last. There’s not even a guarantee that the 37-year-old will finish the regular season on the roster, depending on how the next few weeks transpire around the trade deadline and as the buyout market begins to gain some traction. But, for the time that he is in Salt Lake City, he’s made it into a nice home for what’s now the fourth roster he’s been on through nearly two decades in the league.
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