Washington Wizards power forward Bobby Portis says he “loves it” when fans heckle him at games.
Portis was talking to local reporters on Tuesday about fan heckling in light of what happened between Oklahoma City Thunder star point guard Russell Westbrook and a Utah Jazz fan on Monday night.
Portis says one of the main reasons he enjoys getting heckled by fans is because he's made money off of people commenting on his big eyes. While playing with the Chicago Bulls, the term “Crazy eyes” Portis was created. Every time he made a big play, Portis would flex and make his eyes bigger. Chase Hughes, who covers the Wizards for NBC Sports Washington, has the full quote:
Bobby Portis spoke at length about fan heckling in light of the Russell Westbrook incident. He said he loves it, in general. Part of the reason why is he gets comments about his big eyes all the time and it gave him the idea to print shirts: “I made a lot of money off that.”
— Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) March 12, 2019
Players are going to get heckled by fans all the time. It's part of sports. However, what the fan in Utah apparently said to Westbrook crossed the line and there's no justifying that. Even Portis would have to agree with that considering he's African American as well.
Both Portis and Westbrook wear their emotions on their sleeves. They feed off of confrontation and use it as motivation. It's clear, though, what the fan in Utah said to Westbrook was something the former MVP took personally. Westbrook spoke at length following the game about his issues with fan heckling, particularly when playing in Utah.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens next with this situation. The league has yet to release an official statement, although several players on the Jazz and Thunder, including Thabo Sefolosha and Donovan Mitchell, have come to Westbrook's defense.
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