Monday night’s incident between Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and a Utah Jazz fan — which led to the fan being banned from the Utah arena and a $25,000 fine for Westbrook — sparked discussion in NBA circles about the relationship between fans and players.
Monday was far from the first time Westbrook has been harassed, or even touched, by fans on the court. And several other NBA players have been handed fines for comments directed towards fans this season.
On the flip side, several fans are wondering where the line is for them to talk to players in the game. According to LeBron James, everyone knows where that line is. It’s not very hard to see.
James also said that while Westbrook could have said some things better, ultimately Westbrook was “in the right.”
This portion of the quote was transcribed by Honi of Lakers Outsiders.
“I salute the Utah Jazz in what their organization did and we move forward,” James said. “But fans understand that they pay hard-earned money to watch our beautiful game and watch our beautiful players and I respect that, but there’s a fine line when you go to the disrespectful side. Am I cheering my team on? Am I heckling the opposing guy? Or am I crossing a line? And there’s a fine line, well there’s not a fine line, that line is very bold. Everyone knows when you’re crossing that line. So there it is.”
James is right. It’s should not be very hard for people to understand when heckling the opponent and cheering for a team crosses into disrespect. Usually, if someone goes there, that comes from a place of intention.
The NBA cannot police fan behavior on a league-wide level, but James and other prominent players are making their expectation for workplace safety clear.
