Kevin Durant Explained Why Hecklers At NBA Games Are ‘Corny’ As He Learned About His Fine

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for Kevin Durant, as he’s found himself at the center of one of the NBA’s juiciest stories of the year — which, given everything that’s gone on the first month of the season, is a high bar.

Durant and Draymond Green’s argument on the bench at the end of regulation against the Clippers became instant fodder for those hoping to see the Warriors finally see their dynasty crumble this season (or, at the least, this summer). While it wasn’t the first time we’ve seen a bench argument, the fact that reports continued to pour out over the coming days about what was said by Green, including him going after Durant for how he’s handled his free agency, made it seem like much more than your typical teammate spat. The Warriors suspending Green only added to that, as have the Warriors’ struggles with Durant leading the way with Green and Steph Curry sidelined.

In Dallas, prior to a loss to the Mavericks, Kevin Durant found himself getting heckled by a fan courtside and fired back, telling him to “watch the f*cking game and shut the f*ck up,” which, while an understandable response, earned him a $25,000 fine. Durant learned of that fine while taping a podcast with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, and explained his frustration with hecklers and why he finds them “corny.”

Durant isn’t wrong and this certainly isn’t the first time he’s voiced his frustrations with fans heckling him (see: every interaction he’s ever had on social media). I will say, given the whole burner account issue last summer, there is a little bit of a lack of self-awareness in calling out someone else for being corny. That said, going to games to heckle athletes is dumb and the fact that the athlete will get fined for responding while fans are allowed to cross a line more often than not without consequence makes it even worse.

The idea that you’ve paid for that seat and have, as such, earned the right to do what you want is ridiculous, and honestly if the fan clearly feels that way the league should let something like this slide from the player. If the player isn’t threatening physical harm on someone, it seems reasonable for them to respond with a verbal jab of their own if the fan feels so empowered to dish it out.