Clippers guard Russell Westbrook got into a verbal altercation with a fan during Tuesday night’s 113–104 loss to the Nuggets in Los Angeles.
The fan, who was sitting a few rows up from the floor, was seen yelling in the direction of Westbrook while the game was in action. The Clippers guard stopped playing and walked over to fire back barbs into the stands at the fan. The altercation spilled over into a timeout, when both Westbrook and the fan continued to spew words at one another.
Multiple people tried to move Westbrook away from the unruly fan at different points, including one of the game’s officials, Clippers teammate Daniel Theis, and Nuggets players Justin Holiday and DeAndre Jordan.
Russell Westbrook standing up for himself against a shameless Lakers fan in the crowd pic.twitter.com/GbrH48Zc0S
— Beastbrook (@Beastbr00k0) November 28, 2023
Westbrook spoke on the incident after the game.
“It’s just unfortunate fans think they can get away with saying anything and personally, I won’t allow it,” Westbrook told reporters.
Russell Westbrook wouldn’t repeat what the fan told him tonight because it wasn’t appropriate.
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 28, 2023
Russ: “The moment that line gets crossed, I won’t allow it no more. I stood for it for years. Now that my son is old enough to know what’s going on… Now I gotta stand on it.” pic.twitter.com/Ab3dwZPRyp
The Clippers star said that while he used to let comments from fans roll off his back earlier in his career, he has a different stance now when fans cross the line and talk about his family.
“Now having kids and understanding how important it is, not just myself but my last name. Understanding what Westbrook means, understanding how important that is to my dad, my grandfather, my family. It’s very important. It’s something I stand on, and the respect is a big thing that I value. So the moment the line gets crossed, I won’t allow it no more. I’ve stood for it for years, and now my son is old enough to know what’s going on, asking me, ‘Hey Dad, what does that mean? What’s that?’ Now I got to stand on it, regardless of where I’m at, what’s going on, I’m always standing on that.”
The loss dropped the Clippers to 7–9 on the season. They‘re back in action on Wednesday night in Sacramento.
