Professional athletes can display seriously bad behavior on and off the court or field. In the NBA, it is particularly perilous for players and fans due to the close proximity of the spectators to the players. Throw a little or a lot of alcohol in the mix, and the potential for an incident exists during every game. Many folks think that because they pay money for a ticket, they can say or do whatever they want to the players.
Thursday night in Dallas, a pair of inebriated fans found out that not every player is going to take the verbal abuse. Two-time NBA champ and former MVP Kevin Durant was in Texas with his team, the Phoenix Suns, to take on the hometown Dallas Mavericks when a couple who appeared to have a few too many beers made the mistake of yelling a curse word at Durant as he came out for pregame warmups.
Since the arena was still largely empty, Durant was able to hear a woman yell, calling him a “b**ch.” Most of the time, players will ignore obnoxious fans or yell something back in return. Not this time. The 6’10 superstar immediately turned and approached the couple, screaming, “What?”
Both individuals were holding beers, and as though nothing had happened, the woman involved smiled and stuck out her hand for a handshake, which Durant flatly ignored. It is unknown what Durant said to the hecklers, but he was clearly not happy. Perhaps sensing they had crossed a line, the man tried to defuse the potentially combustible situation.
Allegedly, the man told Durant something about a dead relative and then said he had a sports podcast and was looking for content. It was at that point that Durant apparently didn’t want to provide the couple any further ‘content,’ as he abruptly ended the exchange and went to warm up with his Sun teammates.
Later on, security was seen speaking to the couple and it appeared they were going to be escorted from the building. However, proving that he is a good guy and not actually a b**ch as he was called, Durant persuaded American Airlines Center security to let the mouthy pair stay for the game.
The night didn’t get much better for Durant and the Suns, as the home-standing Mavericks rolled to a 123-113 win, extending their winning streak to seven games. Dallas pulled even with Phoenix in the standings at 33-23, taking the head-to-head tiebreaker as both teams jockey for a guaranteed playoff spot. In attendance for the first time was the new majority owner of the Mavericks, Miriam Adelson. She purchased majority control of the team from Mark Cuban in December.
It is almost as if COVID broke some folks’ way of acting in public. Comedy shows, concerts, award shows, sporting events, and more continue to be interrupted and ruined by boorish and sometimes criminal behavior. Thankfully, the obnoxious couple Thursday night either had too many beers or were really looking for podcast content. Either way, they got more than they bargained for in the person of 6’10, angry Kevin Durant.
Featured image screen grab from embedded video
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