Russell Westbrook, Fan Explain What Led to Heated Confrontation. Then Social Media Finds the Real Culprit

This Westbrook incident is another one of those instances where I am glad we have the internet. Fifteen years ago, we would have labeled Russell Westbrook a problem or worse for what he yelled at a fan on Monday night.

Today, we can (more quickly and easily) learn about the fan, and begin to understand and empathize with, if not exactly condone, what Westbrook did. It took people less than 12 hours to not only figure out who the fan was, but that this fan has a social media presence that contains racist, violent and xenophobic language. (Warning: The above link contains all of the language just described.)

For some fans, I imagine this entire episode will be exhausting. Sports used to be simpler, because we were presented with limited viewpoints. We cheered for the home team. Our guys were good guys and the other guys were bad guys. If someone yelled at a fan or griped about a contract, they were a “bad locker room presence” or a “distraction.”

Did any of that reflect reality? Not really. But things were simpler. Things made sense.

Now we have to have a lot of information, at all times, from everywhere. It forces us to think, to hold more than one idea in our heads at one time. We can no longer blindly root. The guy griping about his contract, we now know, is concerned for the longterm future of his health, has a frighteningly quick career on average, and is being squeezed by a team owner worth billions, an owner who is a symbol of the income inequality our nation and world is dealing with.