The NBA Has Fined Russell Westbrook $25,000 For His Incident With A Jazz Fan


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There’s been plenty of hand-wringing and naval-gazing around the NBA following Russell Westbrook‘s run-in with a hostile fan in Utah on Monday night. Westbrook can be seen on video engaging in a verbal altercation with a man seated near the Thunder bench, during which at one point he threatened both the man and the woman he was with.

After the game, Westbrook explained what the man said to set him off, which was corroborated by teammate Patrick Patterson. Though the man and his companion were not ejected during the incident, the Jazz announced on Tuesday that, after an investigation into what happened, they’ve decided to ban him permanently from the arena.

Westbrook, however, will not emerge unscathed for his role in the incident. It wasn’t long after Utah’s announcement that the league handed down its punishment to the Thunder point guard.

The ordeal has certainly raised the question about the proper protocol for dealing with these types of scenarios. The NBPA released a statement on Tuesday calling for a zero-tolerance policy, and even Jazz players spoke publicly in support of Westbrook and the larger problem of how to handle widespread verbal abuse from so-called fans that players are forced to endure around the NBA.

To be fair, Westbrook was in the wrong for hurtling threats at a fan, but it’s inexcusable the way fans are afforded carte blanche to say whatever they want to players, in many cases without fear of reprisal. Both the permanent ban and the call for an updated policy are steps in the right direction for rectifying a situation that has been out of hand for far too long.

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