Russell Westbrook hates being known as “Westbrick.” Unfortunately for him, that is not in opposition to the principles.
Late within the second quarter of the Clippers’ win over the Grizzlies, Westbrook had a fan kicked out of the sport. His crime? Yelling: “Westbrick!”
According to the NBA fan code of conduct, followers have to chorus from “foul or abusive language and obscene gestures,” however Benjamin Orgel, the 30-year-old fan Westbrook kicked out, advised the New York Post he did not do any of these issues.
“He had his back to me, and all I said was, ‘Westbrick,’” recounted Orgel. “I didn’t say, ‘You suck.’ I didn’t say anything. I just said ‘West-brick,’ one time, like chanting it.”
Westbrook requested what Orgel mentioned, and he repeated “Westbrick.” Then he mentioned it once more. Westbrook bought heated.
“‘What the f–k did you call me?’” Orgel recounted. “I said, ‘Westbrick.’ Then he said, ‘Throw him out of the f–king game.’”
Orgel was ejected, but after security from both the NBA and the Clippers confirmed what Orgel said with Westbrook, he was allowed to return to his seat “like 30 seconds later.”
For somebody who disapproves of insulting language, Westbrook had no drawback telling Dillon Brooks he was “trash” roughly a minute earlier than he bought the fan ejected.
Last 12 months, Westbrook introduced that he would push again on anybody who “besmirches my name” by calling him “Westbrick,” a reference to his subpar capturing. He advised reporters, “It’s shaming my name, my legacy for my kids. It’s a name that means, not just to me, but to my wife, to my mom, my dad, the ones that kind of paved the way for me.”
Yes, that is Westbrook’s response to a punny nickname, and whereas some might persuasively argue that puns needs to be unlawful, the actual fact stays that they don’t seem to be.
It’s a remarkably gentle response from a participant who has had no hesitation in calling Kevin Durant “cupcake” after he signed with the Warriors and whom many gamers name “the most relentless trash-talker in the league” — particularly since, on the time, Westbrook had made eight of 10 pictures within the sport.
There are occasions when fan habits veers into abuse. This wasn’t that. This was an ultra-sensitive multimillionaire calling in his personal safety to harass an everyday one that made a tame joke about his identify.
It’s additionally a suggestion for any opposing participant who desires to know one phrase that may get beneath Westbrook’s pores and skin very simply. Wednesday in Memphis, he was Westshook.
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