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For years, it’s been assumed that a fan heckling an athlete comes with the territory and that the targeted athlete must keep their emotions in check. The modern athlete isn’t subscribing to that notion, though. Increasingly, athletes are starting to clap back at hecklers, confronting them in person or via social media, with no regard for how their retorts could affect their public image.
Kevin Durant is among those athletes contributing to the changing tide. Heading onto the court for a pre-game warmup routine before the Suns versus Mavericks game on February 22, Durant was called an expletive by a fan near the front row. Durant instantly stopped, turned around and confronted her.
“What did you say?” Durant could be heard saying while confronting the fan, whose demeanor seemed to change when faced by the Suns forward.
In fact, she stuck out her hand to shake Durant’s, but he refused the peace offering while questioning her motives. A man with the heckler came to her defense, explaining to Durant that she meant no malice. The conversation ended with the fan claiming to host a sports podcast in the Arizona area.
Moments after, the security personnel at American Airlines Center asked the fans to leave the premises. To Durant’s credit, he prevented them from getting tossed out.
“You’re a grown-up,” Durant told them while walking away.
A Worrying Trend?
The games between the Mavs and Suns sure seem to bring out the worst in both the fanbases and players. During the January 24 game, Luka Doncic got a fan ejected from the game for apparently shouting, “You look tired” and “Get on a treadmill.” During the same game, a brawl broke out after Suns center Jusuf Nurkic shoved former Mavs forward Grant Williams for taunting Durant.
While the Western Conference standings could look drastically different by April, fans are hoping for a Mavs versus Suns series, which has all the makings of an explosive affair. Even NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal wants to see that matchup in the playoffs.
“Phoenix should be trying to get to the 4 [seed] and get home court. And Dallas should be paying attention to Phoenix,” O’Neal said on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on February 22. “As you can see, Luka loves playing against Kevin and Booker. I don’t know what it is, but ever since he beat them in the playoffs [in 2022], he seems to love playing them.”
Should Hecklers Face Harsher Consequences?
Although Durant was the bigger man who refused to get his hecklers thrown out on February 22, certain other fans haven’t been as fortunate. In November 2021, LeBron James had two Pacers fans ejected from Gainbridge Fieldhouse for heckling him during the Lakers‘ overtime win. After the game, James said he was subjected to “obscene gestures and words” from the unruly fans. It was later revealed that the Pacers organization contemplated slapping lifetime bans on the hecklers.
Similarly, in May 2021, five fans were banned indefinitely by the NBA for “completely unacceptable” behavior towards players during the 2021 NBA Playoffs. While one Knicks fan was banned for infamously spitting on Hawks star Trae Young, three Jazz fans were ejected from Vivint Arena for heckling Grizzlies star Ja Morant’s family members. The Sixers also banned a fan from all future events at the Wells Fargo Center for pouring popcorn on then-Wizards guard Russell Westbrook.
While old heads still contend that heckling is part and parcel of sports, the modern athlete isn’t having it. As such, fans who cross the line have been put on notice.
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