Last night the Thunder played a road game against the Utah Jazz and Russell Westbrook got into a spat with a fan. Westbrook was clearly agitated by what was said to him from the heckling fan and went on a verbal tirade, attacking both the man and his wife. From the video alone, it looks like Westbrook may have gone too far, but as the night went on, more layers unfolded.
After the game, the media found the man who got into the verbal altercation with Westbrook to get his side of the story. The man, Shane Keisel, played the role of victim and claims that Westbrook went too far for what he claimed to be a harmless conversation. In the video below, Keisel calls Westbrook “classless” and expressed his displeasure with the comments directed at his wife.
The story took social media by storm and led some people to investigate the background of Keisel and found that he has had clear issues with Westbrook in the past. His twitter account is filled with racially charged tweets towards Westbrook, associated with his support of President Donald Trump.
After the game, Westbrook gave his side of the story and seemed to have cleared the air on what had exactly happened. It appears that Westbrook may have been justified in his anger towards the fan, especially when you consider his tweets.
This incident brings forward the debate on whether fans should be able to yell at players and stay in the arena. It also questions whether players should be allowed to retaliate when they hear things directed towards them. The story dominated social media last night and should be an issue that carries on over the next few weeks.
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