Los Angeles Clippers’ guard Russell Westbrook got face to face with a Phoenix Suns fan on Sunday at the Footrpint Center in Phoenix.
The fan called Westbrook “Westbrick” a derogatory spin on his name popularized by FS1’s Skip Bayless. Westbrook has spoken before about his issue with the name.
“You’ve got to stop calling people out of their name,” Nina Westbrook tweeted.
“You are very disrespectful and a bully. This is why so many young people think it’s okay to exhibit this type of behavior. Social media has become such heinous place because of people like you. My name is Westbrook.
“I’m tired you you @RealSkipBayless calling my husband out of his name. It is extremely childish. That is my name as well, and many other peoples name. You’re disrespectful, and I’m extremely offended by your behavior. You should apologize.”
According to Turner Sports’ Chris Haynes, the NBA is looking into the incident between Westbrook and the fan.
This is the ugly reality of a lot of player-fan interaction these days and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.
Fans Know When They’ve Crossed The Line
Fans know when they’ve crossed the line and a player is well within their right to challenge them.
If a fan wants to call a player “trash” or a “bum” or whatever during the course of a game while supporting their team, that comes with the territory when you’re on the road.
Westbrook has been in the league for 15 seasons, he understands this.
The “Westbrick” nickname is a disrespectful but the fan didn’t come at Westbrook’s family, say anything racist, etc. Could the fan have shown more class, decorum and humanity? Obviously.
But Westbrook didn’t need to get in his face and try and combat him. He could’ve walked away or dissed him while he walked away.
On the court Westbrook and the Clippers stole Game 1, 115-110. Offensively, Westbrook was not very good. He was 3-19 from the field. But his defense was very good at times and his energy and activity specifically on the boards was a catalyst in the win.
“I told him during the game — I’m not sure if it was second or third quarter, maybe late second — that your scoring is not important, don’t get frustrated with missing shots, take good shots, take the right shots,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game.
“But you bring us way more than just scoring the basketball, so don’t let that affect your game. And defensively he was great on KD. I thought his physicality was good.
“He got a few offensive rebounds at the end of the game. We kept the ball alive, we got some more possessions. And the big stop on Book [Devin Booker] at the end. Don’t get discouraged about making shots or missing shots because you bring way more to this team than just making shots. And I thought he was phenomenal tonight,” Lue added.
The Clippers have stolen home court advantage and are up 1-0 heading into an important game 2, Tuesday night in Phoenix.
