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westbrook shoves nuggets fan
There's always somebody who takes their sports just a little too seriously and Thursday night an anonymous Denver Nuggets fan was THAT guy.
Russell Westbrook faced down the screaming Nuggets fan who rushed him on the court Thursday night, only moments after a crushing Oklahoma City Thunder defeat by the Denver Nuggets.
The Thunder lost 127-124 at the hands of the Nuggets' Gary Harris who hit the game winning 3 at the buzzer.
Westbrook, who was understandably glum post-game, didn't want to dwell on his unfortunate altercation with the Nuggets fan and seemed more concerned about what the incident meant in terms of court security:
Though the incident lasted only a few seconds (and was rather mild considering the circumstances) fans were still all riled up by the interaction and took to Twitter to voice their opinions and argue whether or not Westbrook should be fined.
But those who thought Westbrook had been restrained in light of the emotional loss just moments before were plentiful. The fact, that the aggressive Nuggets fan was in clear violation of rules that state fans cannot be on the court, and was blocking Westbrook's path to the locker room, as well as screamingly taunting him meant most basketball fans were calling for no punishment in this instance of player/fan altercation.
Sports media weighed in on Westbrook's fan shove, too:
And as it turns out, the NBA sided with Westbrook (and the majority of fans and sports outlets). As ESPN reported earlier today,
. . . Westbrook will not be disciplined by the NBA for shoving a fan at the conclusion of Thursday night's game in Denver, . . . The NBA reviewed the incident but ultimately decided against punishment for Westbrook, as there was no aggression or engagement from the reigning MVP toward the fan.
Not only that, but there will reportedly be repercussions for the fan, a part-time season ticket holder, who was escorted off the court by arena security on Thursday night.
A source tells ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that following the incident, law enforcement issued a summons and complaint for trespass, and the fan has been banned from games.
The league is reportedly reviewing protocols for all arena security, and looking into whether or not any changes will be recommended with regards to staffing or security.