The NBA has a problem. It isn’t an immediate one, but it is a problem nonetheless. Fans have yelled and told NBA players vulgar things. You might remember whenever Russell Westbrook had a confrontation with a Utah Jazz fan yelling racist slurs at him. This time it’s a Denver Fan yelling at Marcus Smart to “Get on your knees.” Marcus Smart had some words to say on this incident, as reported by Chris Forsberg at NBC Sports Boston:
“My foot got stuck in a chair and a fan told me, ‘That’s right, stay on the ground, get on your knees,’” said Smart. “Excuse me? You know what I’m saying. I just told him, ‘Listen, just watch the game,’ because, if we retaliate to you guys, or we were on the street, you probably wouldn’t say that.
“I guarantee you wouldn’t say that because we’re grown men just like you. I told the security, they didn’t do anything about it. Just gotta move on. But that’s a problem in the league that we gotta fix because, if we retaliate to protect ourselves, we’re the ones getting in trouble. They’re not. And that’s not right.”
This isn’t even about the game anymore when fans make comments like that. See, when I go to NBA games, I cheer my beloved Spurs on, boo the other team/refs, if need be. The usual things to do at a basketball game. I have never been close enough for the NBA players to hear me, the closest I’ve been might have been 10-20 rows away from the court. Either way, I get heckling, when it’s basketball-related. But there’s a line that we, as fans shouldn’t cross. It’s when we start becoming personal insults or comments like this. If Trey Daubert went to a Rockets game and was close enough to say “YOU SUCK RUSSELL WESTBROOK,” that’s fine because we all know it’s basketball-related.
NBA players usually don’t mind heckling when it comes to basketball. Players are in the best professional basketball league in the world, there’s going to be some heckling from NBA fans of the other team. They’re used to it by now usually, but that personal line should not be crossed ever. This isn’t the first time fans and NBA players got into it, and it won’t be the last. We for sure don’t want another Malice in the Palace. But the NBA should keep this on their mind and think of ways to improve this, even if it means pushing fans back and getting rid of floor seats. Protect the players!
