It goes without saying that if a white NBA player — like, say, Dallas Mavericks rookie phenom Cooper Flagg — called a black NBA fan “boy,” it would be an overnight scandal.
Network shows like FS1’s “First Things First” and ESPN’s “First Take” would immediately pounce on the story, dedicating multiple segments to the racially charged incident.
You could already hear ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith foaming at the mouth, as he often does with anyperceived racial grievance, and speaking in all caps about Flagg.
(To be clear, Flagg has been a model citizen his rookie season.)
But if a black NBA superstar says something equally charged to a white fan? Crickets — almost quite literally.
On Saturday, the Houston Rockets clipped the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on the road, 112-106.
It was a heated contest between two Western Conference teams vying for a title, so emotions were understandably high. Adding fuel to this emotional fire, Rockets star Kevin Durant had an acrimonious divorce with the Thunder in 2016, with tensions still simmering a decade later.
That’s the background for what happened Saturday evening, in the third quarter of the Rockets-Thunder tilt.
During a stoppage in play in the third quarter, Durant briefly stepped off the court. During this momentary break, he chose to threaten a heckling OKC fan — with some racial animus, to boot.
You can watch the ugly incident for yourself below:
Source: VidNews » Feed
