Kevin Durant was jogging onto the court in Dallas for pregame warmups when he heard a woman behind him call him a “faggot.”
Durant didn't ignore it and spun around to confront the woman and man who were with him. The woman held out her hand as if to shake Durant's hand (which he did not do), and the couple seemed surprised by Durant's negative reaction. The man then said there was a sports podcast, and Durant walked away, but returned to keep security from removing them. WFAA's Jonah Javad captured the incident on video.
KD stopped speaking after a Mavs fan called Kevin Durant “terrible.”
When the security guard tried to kick the fan out, KD came back and told him not to kick the fan out. pic.twitter.com/CTqPnM4T16
— Jonah Javad (@JonahJavad) February 23, 2024
After the game, in which the Suns lost to the hotly contested Mavericks, Durant spoke about the incident. With Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
“I thought, even if you call me 'terrible' when I turn my back and start running, people usually call me a coward, keep my back turned.” I say it's terrible, but it wasn't. There’s not too many people around,” Durant said. “I know that’s not what you think, and I’m not going to kick you out just because you paid for a ticket. You had a few drinks. I understand how people feel, but there are better ways to try to get tickets.'' Please pay attention to me and talk to me other than calling me names. Because you are protected in this arena…
“It wasn't that big of a deal,” Durant said. “I feel like sometimes they don't see us as humans. So if we have the opportunity to tell the other person how we feel right away, the other person will retract their attitude. You see, we're animals. He is a circus performer, an entertainer rather than a real human being to them.”
Since the spread of the new coronavirus, there has been an increase in abusive behavior and excessive behavior by some fans towards players, and an increasing number of players are actively calling out people for this. Sometimes it's just a drunk fan crossing the line, sometimes it has to do with a frustrated fan who lost a gamble, and sometimes it's just (to put it politely) just an asshole. As players grow increasingly frustrated with this trend, arena security (at least in some cities) is becoming more attuned, and more fans are being ejected for their behavior.
Durant's sentiment is shared by NBA players that fans often see players as two-dimensional entertainers rather than people. The players understand that the fans are paying for the tickets and therefore have the right to “boo” the players and make their voices heard, but beyond that There is a line of common sense that should not be followed. It's like calling a player ab**** when he starts running on the court.
