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Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook had a little chat with a kid in the third quarter of Tuesday's showdown with the Denver Nuggets.
Following the contest, Westbrook explained to reporters what the interaction was all about, per Brett Dawson of The Athletic:
“He hit me. So I told his dad, ‘be careful, man, you can’t have your son just hitting random people.’ I don’t know him, he don’t know me. So, just letting him know, ‘You’ve just got to control your kids.’ It's that simple. [He has to] be responsible for his kid.”
Russell Westbrook on his interaction with a young Nuggets fan in the front row who reached out and touched him during tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/exBpYfnK4B
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) February 27, 2019
Kudos to Russ for handling the situation well. He usually has a very short temper and gets hot-headed when he's in situations like this. Remember last season when a fan also got into the former MVP's grill? Westbrook immediately shoved the heckler that came shouting in front of his face as soon as the buzzer sounded.
But this time around, he kept his cool after seeing that it was an innocent kid who nudged him. He even gave the young boy a little dap after talking to him and his father.
Nonetheless, Westbrook has a valid point. Fans just can't waltz around and go touching these professional athletes whenever they want to. Kids, likewise, should know the same and as Russ said, it is the parents' responsibility to keep their children in check.
The league might want to investigate on implementing security measures as we never know what might happen or what people might do. Players' safety should be priority number one. Fans sitting at courtside have too much freedom down there to do what they want, and there isn't much security to control them.
Westbrook handled this like a true professional, and even as a true parent looking out for a child's well-being and development. Good job, Russ!
