NBA: Fans, Los Angeles Clippers’ quick rebuild and more

Fans crossing the line, a Western Conference team one star away from serious contention and an Eastern Conference team in a difficult spot take centerstage in this week’s NBA overview.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz are a budding NBA rivalry since their matchup in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs last season. Utah won that series in six games, but OKC won all four matchups against the Jazz this season, including two games decided by one point. The rivalry has led to chippiness on the court, but is now taking a serious turn off the court.

Russell Westbrook and a couple attending the game were involved in a verbal altercation in Salt Lake City on Monday night. Westbrook was seen on camera spewing physical words toward the couple while on the bench and then explained that the couple shouted, “Get down on your knees like you’re used to,” at Westbrook, which prompted the star point guard to retaliate.

This is not Westbrook’s first run in with Utah’s crowd. After Utah closed out OKC in Game 6, Westbrook confronted a fan while exiting the court and had some words for Utah’s crowd in the ensuing press conference. Whether you think Russ took it over the top with his threats at the couple, which can be viewed here (be warned about language), it’s no excuse for what the couple said to him on top of being in a city he’s publicly stated displeasure for.

There is a difference between attending a sporting event and booing wildly or shouting at players compared to going to the event and hurling expletives about somebody’s race or family. These lines have been crossed before, and this exchange comes a day after a fan shockingly jumped onto a soccer pitch and punched a player in the back of the head this past weekend.

Words are not as violent as invading a live game and striking a player, but paying money to watch athletes perform gives you no right to speak freely. Should Westbrook have threatened to physically hit somebody? Probably not.

But we’ve never been in his shoes. We’ve never had grown humans scream terrible things about us and our family 41 nights a season, not counting playoff games where the intensity amplifies. Yes, they make millions of dollars. But they’re still human. Set an example for kids sitting next to you, and screaming racial phrases towards an athlete knowing nothing can happen back to you is setting no example.

I’ve never played a sport past the high school level and college intramurals, but working for four years (2012-15) with the Florida State University football team brought stuff like this to life. Those were the Jameis Winston seasons, so the crab legs, sexual assault case and his other blemishes were shouted ad nausea.

Those were understood mishaps to poke fun at, but when fans took it across the line towards him and other players, you feel the tension build. These were families screaming at 18-22-year-old college students things that can’t be repeated on here, once again, knowing the players can’t do anything about it.

It’s a sport-wide problem that has been brought to the forefront of the sports world the past couple days. Athletes are humans and they are content with the typical heckling. But when the line is crossed, the fans will have to get used to the players talking back and getting the security’s attention.