Southwest Airlines takes shot at Mavericks, Luka Doncic trade after policy change

One big Dallas brand decides to beat up on another.

Nov 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts to receiving a technical foul during the second half against the Orlando Magic at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks' decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February has stayed in national headlines for over six weeks now. It remains the topic of many talk shows, podcasts, and water cooler conversations, as people are just dumbfounded that Dallas would ever do something like what they did.

And now, Dallas businesses are using the Luka Doncic trade to soften the blow from their own bad decisions.

READ MORE: NBA insider leaks shocking details behind Luka Doncic’s blockbuster trade to Lakers

Mar 10, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts during the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Southwest Airlines, a major corporation with its headquarters in Dallas, recently changed its bag policy to no longer allow free checked bags, which is causing a lot of travelers to be upset with them, as that was the company's biggest draw when flying. To soften the blow, they decided to take aim at the Mavericks for deciding to trade Luka Doncic with an Instagram post.

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A post shared by Southwest Airlines (@southwestair)

It should be noted that the Mavericks' arena is sponsored by American Airlines, a direct competitor of Southwest. But it doesn't seem like calling out the Luka trade was a smart decision, as the comments have ranged from "Read the room social team. This ain’t it." to "Taking a screenshot of this as it will be the thumbnail for the Harvard business review case study of destroying a brand and an entire company. Herb [Kelleher, former Southwest CEO] is probably rolling in his grave. Shameful."

Those are still better reviews than the Mavericks received for trading away Doncic, which has been met with protests, fans getting kicked out of games, and many harsh criticisms. The Mavericks have fallen down the Western Conference standings due to the trade, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Southwest lose business for their recent change.

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