Kevin Durant's return to his old stomping grounds in Oklahoma City did not disappoint. Fans serenaded the one-time MVP with boisterous chants of "cupcake," and his 34 points helped power Golden State to a 130-114 win over his former team. With Russell Westbrook performing his usual one-man army act, it was quite the spectacle despite the gap in the final score.
While Durant and the Warriors exepected a lot of vitriol to come his way, post-game interviews revealed they did not seem pleased at the extent of the hatred. Draymond Green in particular took exception to one set of insults lobbed at KD, and went off in a rant after the game:
That guy was just disrespectful to all of us the entire night. I'm all for you cheering for your guys, like cheer! Heckle, heckle all you want, but don't be disrespectful, calling guys p-words and all this stuff, and 'Get over there little boy.' Our fans heckle I'm sure, fans everywhere heckle, but it's one thing to disrespect guys, and he was disrespectful the entire night.
When a reporter followed up and asked if there was one moment in particular Green thought was worthy of criticism, he didn't hold back:
Like I just said, calling guys the p-word. My mom didn't raise that. Calling a guy, 'get over there little boy,' like nah, this ain't the ancient times. Slave days are over. You're not going to talk to guys like that, that's disrespectful.
The fan Green is likely referring to is a man named Rich Taylor, according to ESPN's Royce Young. Young followed up on a report from Chris Mannix of Yahoo! Sports, which reported an altercation during the game that necessitated police involvement:
Taylor is perhaps best known for a recording of him outside of Durant's former home in Oklahoma City, where he put up a "For Sale by Coward" sign on his lawn:
Fan outrage is an expected part of the process when a beloved star flees for greener pastures, but Green has a point regarding the manner in which Durant was spoken to last night and since his departure. Though fans invest a lot of time, money, and energy watching these athletes, too many feel a level of "ownership" in the decisions made by both players and management. This can create toxic situations, and calling a grown man "little boy" to disparage him is problematic on a number of levels.
Green was not afraid to call out behavior he felt crossed the line. While Taylor ended up denying the allegations beyond calling Durant a coward, this incident should be a point of reference for fans from all backgrounds, not just those in Oklahoma City.
