Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant ironically learned of his $25,000 fine while doing a sit-down interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The mercurial All-Star wing explained why he chose to respond to a heckling Dallas Mavericks fan, which prompted his reaction and consequent fine.
Durant told the fan to “shut the f*** up and watch the f***ing game,” which he nonchalantly repeated when talking to Haynes.
“More fans should understand what that means,” said Durant. “Grown men can't come to the game and heckle grown men. That's corny. That's weak.”
“You come to the game to heckle another grown man — ‘you soft, you weak. Draymond this, Draymond that' — You're gonna sleep as a grown man doing that to another person?”
For those interested, Kevin Durant’s reaction as I break the news of his $25,000 fine right in front of him. Also, his thoughts. pic.twitter.com/1rWgkZV3Kb
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 21, 2018
Fans have been heckling athletes for ages now, and somehow Durant has taken such private offense to what goes on beyond the sidelines.
Plenty of players have been fined by the league office for retaliating, with the likes of former teammate Russell Westbrook and pesky guard Patrick Beverley previously speaking out at how the verbal abuse has gotten out of hand.
Durant's response to Haynes does little to mend the tag of an overly sensitive player in this league, and one who cares so much about others' opinion of him.
The back-to-back Finals MVP showcased that same thin skin after becoming a champion, trading barbs with some of his social media followers under burner accounts to defend himself.
Kevin Durant is better just moving past the issue and putting it in the rearview mirror, as these small-scale fines usually go away with time in the eyes of the media.
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