Shannon Sharpe claims that he would’ve gotten into the stands to exchange a few ‘words’ with the fans if they were throwing food at him.
The disrespectful nature of fans towards players on opposing teams went to an all time high last night as all 3 games on the docket feature despicable behavior from the fans’ side. Russell Westbrook has been at odds with fans for years now and the Wizards Game 2 loss against the Sixers in Philly proved to be yet another instance of fans taking advantage of their position as consumers.
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This particular fan threw popcorn onto Russell Westbrook as he was walking into the locker room, causing the 2017 MVP to lose it and try to confront him, eventually being held back by security. The Sixers have since apologized to Westbrook and banned the fan from their arena indefinitely.
Trae Young also experienced something similar at MSG as a fan spat on him during Game 2 last night. Ja Morant, in the Grizzlies bout against the Jazz, claims to have had racial profanities yelled at him and his family.
Shannon Sharpe says he’d get up in the stands to have a few words with any fan who disrespects him.
Members of the media and NBA analysts have all reacted to these events that transpired and have all condemned what took place. Shannon Sharpe and Charles Barkley seem to be of a similar mindset as they both claim they’d love to reciprocate a similar energy to any fan that’s disrespectful towards them.
Shannon Sharpe implies that he’d enact ‘Malice at the Palace 2.0’ if fans ever did what they did to Westbrook or to Young, to him.
We’re coming out of a pandemic and fans are spitting on players????
How would you feel if someone dumped popcorn or spit on your son or daughter?
I’m sorry, but I would’ve been in the stands like Metta. pic.twitter.com/ukwTyj9TBd
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) May 27, 2021
It’s almost impossible to control fans in any arena. Their close proximity to the players allows them to do or say essentially, whatever they want. It’s saddening to know that despite several punishments being laid out to a bevy of ‘fans’ across the years, more and more of these despicable acts seem to take place.
It’s no surprise that these events took place at Madison Square Garden or in Utah. The rabid nature of Knicks fans seems to get the best of them at times. Utah Jazz fans on the other hand, have a notorious history of being racist with horrible instances involving guys like Russell Westbrook and Derek Fisher taking place, just to name a few.