PROTECTING NBA PLAYERS FROM FANS
By: Jerry Humphrey III
During this year’s NBA playoffs we’ve seen a continuous trend of NBA fans misbehaving while attending the games. Since vaccination shots have been going out and states beginning to open back up from Covid-19 guidelines fans were able to resume to the arenas and enjoy some great basketball. However, there have been a lot of ignorant and bold individuals acting out of character at these events and the league needs to do something about it.
The first couple of incidents we seen were during the first-round series of the Playoffs. Washington Wizards guard Russel Westbrook was showered with beer and popcorn while he was walking to the locker rooms after an apparent ankle injury during game two against the Philidelphia 76ers. Security immediately held back Westbrook to prevent an altercations.
“I take this very personally. I am tired of the same thing. To me, I don’t see anything changing. It just gets worse.” Westbrook said after the incident occurred.
In addition stars like Ja Morant, Trae Young, and Kyrie Irving had run-ins with fans during the playoffs as well. While in New York Trae was seen being spit on by a courtside fan on camera, After defeating the Boston Celtics a bottle was thrown at Kyrie Irving as he was headed to the locker room and Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant’s family put in a complaint about being treated rudely by Utah Jazz fans while watching their son play.
“Throwing stuff at people, saying things at a certain point where it gets to be too much,” Irving said. “You see people just feel very entitled out here. As a Black man playing in the NBA, dealing with a lot of this stuff, it’s fairly difficult.”
If the punishments were stricter I firmly believe fans will not have the guts to act out while at these events. These are human beings risking their lives to entertain the fans. They can’t do their jobs if fans do not act accordingly. This is not a zoo and the league and security staff needs to do better to protect the players and families affected by this matter.
