The return of fuller arenas during the NBA Playoffs has been a welcome sight, but the return of fans also brings the bad with the good. The playoff atmosphere has been fantastic to see as fans have made the arena’s feel more electric and brought back the tension and jubilation of playoff hoops, but it has also brought back the unfortunate things that can happen in fan-player interactions.
On Wednesday, we saw that front and center as Russell Westbrook left Game 2 in the fourth quarter of what had become a blowout with an apparent ankle injury.
Russell Westbrook was frustrated after suffering an apparent ankle injury.
He left for the locker room in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/XWqJK3WOOq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 27, 2021
As he was walking through the tunnel to the locker room, a Sixers fan dumped popcorn on the Wizards star guard. Westbrook was, understandably, furious and had to be held back by the trainers and staffers that had been taking him back for an injury evaluation.
Russ got heated after a fan threw popcorn at him pic.twitter.com/XyMRUxUVwc
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 27, 2021
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 27, 2021
It’s always crossing the line to throw something on a player, but particularly so given the circumstances. To pour popcorn on a guy walking back to the locker room with an injury is ridiculous, and the Sixers broadcast rightfully calls out the action as plain stupidity. The fan was quickly tossed for their actions, but it’s something that should never happen in the first place to an injured player going back to the locker room.