Russell Westbrook tells fan: "I'll f*ck you up, you and your wife"

1.) How do you know I'm white?
2.) White people aren't allowed to have an opinion?

 

Yeah, that's what I said. But he threatened them with violence.

 

Intent does not always fit.

Much like Westbrook could say he wasn't actually intending to threaten the patrons. If he said that, and earnestly meant it does it mean he's absolved? How something is perceived can be just as important as intent.

Also, I'm telling you, look up buck breaking. If anyone knew what that meant, this guy would. I would be shocked this guy didn't.

 

Empty personal attacks. Nice touch.

 

Ok that's fine. I get it, ambiguity. Shane Keisel said get on your knees, and maybe he didn't mean for it to be racial.
But let me ask you this, when it's all said and done, what difference does it make? In the end, Russel heard it and took it as racial. So that's what matters.

If I eat at a BBQ joint named Blacks, and I'm in a room full of black people and my friend and I are having a debate about worst BBQ places ever, and I yell out I hate Blacks...then I deserve to get my ass jumped because I gave everyone in that room the wrong idea, doesn't matter that I didn't mean it, but they don't know that.

 

Ok, even if he intended to be racist. How would we ever know unless he confessed to it? I can find a million things that people do on their knees. How do you pick which one the fan meant? People automatically assume racism because Westbrook is black and the fan is white. But it could have literally meant anything. My point is, people want to be the judge, the jury, and the executioner far too much. We don't actually have a clue, so in my opinion we should be careful of throwing around the term "racist" too loosely.

 

So, does Russ get away with his actions? I didnt comb through 22 pages... yet.
I would figure he would get some kind of fine or punishment, threatening a fan and a woman. smh
Incredible athlete, never liked his demeanor or his attitude.

 

he was fined

 

Great point on how people perceive it. So Russell Westbrook assumed he is a racist and so does much of the general public. It shows that people in America have become completely nuts and paranoid.

To respond to your second point, he didn't say anything directly towards black people man. He just said get on your knees like you're used to or like you used to. Which again, can mean anything. So your comparison of you in a bbq joint doesn't draw a good example.

 

BTW I love Westbrook as a player. No joke, guy plays with heart and is explosive. He reminds me of Kevin Garnett who was one of the last great players who played his heart out every game. Not censored.

 

Really? If it wasn’t a lie, and all he actually said was “ice your knees bro”, would he have been banned for life?

Several Thunder players said after the game that Westbrook’s account of what he heard was accurate. Jazz players Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Thabo Sefolosha also came to Westbrook’s defense on Tuesday. Mitchell said in a statement that he was “personally hurt” by the incident.

The Jazz banned the fan for life from Jazz games and any other events at Vivint Smart Home Arena. After conducting an investigation through video review and eyewitness accounts, the Jazz said the fan was banned “based on excessive verbal abuse directed at a player during the game.”

 

Just think about it? “U suck” is nothing, that’s light...no one will take it nearly as seriously as that “get on your knees” comment...stop...

and yeah, u might get physically attacked if u set off the wrong person talking sh*t...again, that’s just common sense...that’s life

u said you’ve told players they sucked...bet u wouldn’t go to a game and say what that fan said tho...that’s because the 2 aren’t the same...

 

He doesn't have to say Black people explicitly Bro. Get on your knees like you're used to is a metaphor. Just like saying Harden's on fire, doesn't really mean he's engulfed in flames.

I'm done wasting my time, peace out.

 

I mean, I'm not one to come to the aid of a guy who just received a lifetime ban for making inflammatory and threatening remarks, but if you want to be my guest. His twitter said a lot, even him deleting his posts means he felt he had something to hide. Again, not necessarily picking what the fan meant. I can throw around the n-bomb around my black friends, in a total joking mood and it still could be seen as something wrong for me to say. You seem to be struggling to understand intent is only half the crime.

I assume racism not because of the race of WB, but of the screen caps of the guy's social media and his attack on players like Cap.

Also, I don't shed a tear for this guy one bit. He chose to harass WB on multiple occasions. He chose to have a social media presence where he makes remarks that are racially charged. He chose to do an interview after the game "defending" himself. He put himself in the limelight because he thought he wasn't actually being watched when he did his misdeeds.

 

Excessive verbal abuse doesn't equal racism though. And the Jazz figured it's easier to just ban this guy and avoid potential media backlash than to not ban him.

 

keep caping for the racist...or how about the Jazz figured what he did was deserving of getting banned plain and simple...nah, that couldn’t be it in that little bubble u live in

but you’re the same dude trying to equate “get on your knees” with saying “u suck” as if they carry anywhere close to the same weight...again, wake up please, or maybe you’re just being purposefully obtuse

 

The first thing that came to my mind is the guy was basically telling Westbrook to su** a di**. Isnt' that what getting on your knees means? What's the racist part? Not to defend someone for being as classless to basically tell a professional athlete to s a d.

 

Some of the most heckled NBA players, including Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, former NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin and former NBA sharpshooter Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, said Utah’s fans were the most demeaning. Martin added that Boston was a close second to Utah. But rude and racist comments are commonplace throughout the league.

Martin said he could take the typical boos or such words as “you suck” and “you can’t shoot” but said the game changes when it becomes racist and personal.

“There were some borderline things said in Utah where they might as well have called me the N-word,” Martin said. “But if I get close to them with the same energy, they are going to play the victim. There are things said everywhere else too. I’ve heard things in Boston. Utah is the worst. Fans think they can say whatever. …

“There is no solution for some fans. Fans think they’re entitled to do whatever because they bought tickets. I’ve been booed. Told, ‘You suck.’ Told, ‘You can’t shoot.’ But you can get called ‘coon’ and asked if you want a banana and look into the stands and not know who said it.”

Abdul-Rauf said that the fans in Utah, which is majority Mormon, gave him a very tough time because of his religion and his refusal to stand for the national anthem when his teams played in Salt Lake City in the 1990s. Abdul-Rauf, who played in the NBA for nine seasons, is a devout Muslim and also African-American. The racist and demeaning words about his faith are still a painful memory for him today.

Changes should have been made “a long time ago,” he said.

“Some of these fans are out of hand, and too much is going on with the treatment of blacks and minorities to allow this,” Abdul-Rauf said. “I dealt with similar stuff with people trying to attack your religion, etc. And people, in particular white folks, are sitting there smiling like it’s funny. But the minute you come back at them, you’re the wrongdoer.

“Black folks continue to go through racism, and to expect us to sit back and continue to say nothing is too much. If the shoe was on the other foot, it would be a totally different language.”

 

but but but where's the vid?

 

How did Kenyon not realize when fans were telling him he sucks that they were pretty much telling him to get on his knees instead of implying that he had no game and couldn’t play?