A frustrated Russell Westbrook says the NBA has to start protecting players from disrespectful fans. Westbrook’s comments come after a Philadelphia 76ers fan dumped popcorn on the Washington Wizards star in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of their best-of-seven first-round series.
The ugly incident occurred as Westbrook limped through the tunnel on his way to the locker room of Wells Fargo Center after suffering an ankle injury. Westbrook became furious and had to be held back by security.
The fan was ultimately ejected from the arena.
“I wouldn’t come up to me on the street and throw popcorn on my head, because you know what happens,” Westbrook said, per Fred Katz of The Athletic. “In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”
Westbrook has had his fair share of dust-ups with fans at visiting arenas. Most notably he had an exchange with an Utah Jazz fan in 2019. The Jazz ultimately banned the fan for life from their home arena.
This isn’t even the first brush in with a 76ers fan. In 2016, a Philadelphia fan flipped two middle fingers at Westbrook during Opening Night. The fan was ejected.
“To be honest, this s**t is getting out of hand, especially for me,” Westbrook said, per ClutchPoints. “The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f**k they want to do. It’s just out of pocket, man. Seriously.”
It’s understandable Russell Westbrook is growing frustrated and tired of the run-ins with fans. He has an enormous target from fans to jeer him on a whole other level compared to other NBA players. Hopefully, the league ensures incidents such as Wednesday night won’t happen again.
