Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook is getting sick and tired of the harassment he and his family are receiving from Los Angeles Lakers fans unhappy over his play this season.
On Monday, Westbrook’s wife Nina drew attention on social media when she tweeted her frustration with the negative attention their family has dealt with from disgruntled Lakers supporters over the course of the team’s disappointing season.
“When I’m being harassed on a daily basis over basketball games, and I’m having obscenity’s and death wishes for me and my family sent my way because you’re expressing your ‘truth,’ it’s hard for me to get on board with that,” Nina Westbrook wrote.
Russell Westbrook is getting tired of the harassment from Los Angeles Lakers fans
Following the Lakers’ loss on Monday to the San Antonio Spurs — their eighth loss in the last ten — Westbrook was asked about his wife’s tweet. The nine-time All-Star said he supported her stance, and a recent school meeting for his son made him realize he needs to take a different approach on the bashing he has received from fans this season.
“I’ve kind of let it go in the past because it never really bothered me. But it really kind of hit me the other day. Me and my wife were at teacher-parent conferences for my son. And the teacher told me, ‘Noah, he’s so proud of his last name. He writes it everywhere,” Westbrook explained. “He writes it on everything. He tells everybody and walks around and says, ‘I’m Westbrook.’ … And I kind of sat there in shock, and it hit me, like, ‘Damn. I can no longer allow people [to badmouth my name].'”
Westbrook is in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career. His pairing with fellow NBA superstars Lebron James and Anthony Davis has been an unmitigated disaster as the team sits at ninth in the Western Conference with a 28-36 record. Lakers fans have let their frustration be known with the guard all season, and “Westbrick” is a nickname that has started to follow him around of late.
- Russell Westbrook stats (2021-2022): 18.1 PPG, 7.6 REB, 7.2 AST
Westbrook plans to stamp out future name bashing
The constant harassment is starting to get to Westbrook, and he let it be known yesterday that he is done brushing off the badmouthing of his name. And if the harassment continues, he plans to nip those insults to him and his family has gotten in the bud.
“It’s shaming my name, my legacy for my kids. It’s a name that means [something], not just to me, but to my wife, to my mom, my dad, the ones that kind of paved the way for me,” said Westbrook.
“A lot of times, I let it slide. But now it’s time to put a stop to that and put it on notice,” he said. “There’s a difference. We need to make sure it’s understood. And every time I do hear it now, I will make sure that I address it and make sure I nip that in the bud.”
Westbrook and the Lakers return on the Wednesday NBA games today schedule to face the Houston Rockets on the road.