Last month, Luka Doncic had a Suns fan expelled. Tonight, Kevin Durant could have done the same with a Mavs fan. As he was preparing to enter the Texans floor, at the exit of the tunnel, for the warm-up, the Suns player heard something that did not please him.
Then he turned around and found himself facing two fans, a man and a woman, with Mavs jerseys on their backs and a beer in their hand each.
“ Even though you called me a s***** (“ b*tch “) as I ran out the door with my back turned, people have a habit of doing that… I know you don't think so and I'm not going to get you kicked out because you paid for these tickets. You've had a few drinks and I understand how people react, but there are better ways to try to get my attention and talk to me than calling me a s***** “, clearly recalls Kevin Durant.
In the exchange in question, the woman, who allegedly let out the insult, begs the NBA player to clap her hands. She is obviously trying to be honorable and explain what she said, but KD, quite annoyed by this behavior, scolds her.
“ I can't do nothing for you. This will ruin everything I've built. There are better ways to talk to people, to try to get attention, to start a conversation with someone than to try to get a reaction from them/by calling them s** ***. I could have easily gotten them kicked out and maybe banned for a few weeks, but I'd rather have them watch me play », Continues Durant, author of 23 points (9/22 on shots) in the game.
The zoo metaphor
The latter puts the incident into perspective, even if according to him it reflects something symptomatic among the fans in the stands: “ It's like they don't see us as human beings sometimes. When you have the opportunity to let someone know how you feel, they come back. You see, we are animals, we are circus acts, we are entertainers for them instead of being real people. »
The superstar takes the metaphor a little further by directly comparing the NBA context to… the zoo: “ I know people want to pet the animals at the zoo, to get close to them… But once they get closer, they realize that you are real human beings too. So you should treat us the same. I could have had them expelled. So don't blame me for this. They just called me a s*****. They didn't hurt me. They didn't try to physically harm me. Let them stay and give them something to think about in the future. »
Referring to the “protection” enjoyed by spectators in the stands, Kevin Durant ends with advice to those who would like to attract his attention at the edges of the courts: “ You don't need to get a reaction from me by calling me by my name or disrespecting me. Just tell me 'what's up' and tell me how you really feel. You don't think I'm a s*****. You respect me more than that. »
