On Tuesday night, Jimmy Butler returned to Miami for the first time since his messy split from the Heat at this year’s NBA trade deadline. Ahead of the spicy return game, one enterprising South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter found a unique story outside the arena.
Beat reporter Adam Lichtenstein spotted a table set up in downtown Miami, where a supposed Sudanese artist named Akbar Domestique sat to advocate for the Heat to build Butler a statue. The artist not only set up a display to get fans on his side, but he also brought a lookbook of iconic Butler images to serve as inspiration for the potential art installation.
So Lichtenstein interviewed Domestique and published a story early Tuesday evening about the man’s efforts to pay tribute to the former Miami star.
Unfortunately for Lichtenstein and the Sun Sentinel sports department, Domestique is not a real person but a spoof character played by Meadowlark Media personality and Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz guest host Amin El-Hassan.
The Le Batard Show revealed the spoof early Wednesday, laughing in the face of the gullible Lichtenstein.
“We wanted to get a Jimmy Butler statue commissioned,” El-Hassan explained, tongue in cheek. “We had the artist out there, his name is Akhbar Domestique … one of the people who came up to us unsolicited was a reporter. We did not know from which outlet. He said, ‘I’m a reporter,’ he identified himself as media, so Akhbar granted him an interview.”
Later Wednesday, Lichtenstein posted to X admitting defeat.
“Welp, looks I got got,” he wrote. “Shoutout @LeBatardShow.”
Welp, looks I got got. Shoutout @LeBatardShow.
— Adam Lichtenstein (@ABLichtenstein) March 26, 2025
The Sun Sentinel also issued a correction to the story on their website.
The story now begins with the following Editor’s Note:
“*What appeared to be one man’s amusing tribute to former Heat star Jimmy Butler was actually a practical joke for “The Dan Le Batard Show.” They got us. Original article below.*”
It’s been a while since the Le Batard Show has engaged in its usual shenanigans, but this incident will be no surprise to longtime fans and followers. Domestique and El-Hassan should be proud of how deep their routine went.