Kevin Durant was jogging onto the court in Dallas for pregame warmups when he heard a woman behind him call him a “b****.”
Durant didn’t ignore it, he spun around and confronted the woman and man she was with. The woman held out her hands like she wanted to shake hands with Durant (he was having none of it) and the couple seemed surprised by his negative reaction. Then the guy said he had a sports podcast and that’s when Durant walked away — but he returned to ensure security did not eject them. Jonah Javad of WFAA caught it on video.
Mavs fan calls Kevin Durant “a b*tch” and KD pauses to have words.
— Jonah Javad (@JonahJavad) February 23, 2024
Security about to kick the fans out when KD comes back to tell them not to kick them out. pic.twitter.com/CTqPnM4T16
After the game (a Suns loss to the red-hot Mavericks) Durant spoke about the incident with Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
“My thing was like, even though you called me a b**** as I’m running out with my back turned, people usually do that, call me coward, b**** with my back turned, and it wasn’t too many people around,” Durant said. “I know you don’t mean that and I’m not going to get you kicked out because you paid your money for these tickets, you had a couple of drinks and I understand how people get, but it’s better ways to try to get my attention and talk to me other than call me a b**** out my name because you’re protected in these arenas...
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Durant said. “It’s like, they don’t look at us as humans sometimes. So when you get a chance to let a person know how you feel real quick, then they’ll backtrack. See, we’re animals, we’re circus acts, we’re entertainers to them instead of real people.”
Post COVID, there has been more name calling and over-the-top behavior from some fans toward players — and more players willing to call people out for it. Sometimes it’s just a drunk fan crossing the line, occasionally it can be tied to a frustrated fan who lost gambling, and some people are just, um, jerks (to put it politely). As players grow frustrated with the trend, arena security has become more in tune with it (in some cities, at least) and more fans are getting ejected for behavior.
Durant’s sentiment that fans often see players as two-dimensional entertainers and not people is common among NBA players. Players understand that fans pay for their tickets and with that have some rights to “boo” a player or let their voice be heard, but there is a line of common decency that should not be crossed. Like calling a player a b**** when they are running out on the court.
