Russell Westbrook went down with an ankle injury during the fourth quarter in Game 2 of the Washington Wizards’ first round series against Philadelphia 76ers. As the veteran guard walked into the locker room, a fan at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center poured their popcorn on Westbrook’s head. Westbrook was incensed, and had to be restrained by members of the Wizards staff.
You can watch the video here:
A Sixers fan just showered Russell Westbrook with popcorn pic.twitter.com/wNELCfKp2k
— Everything's Phine (@evrythingsphine) May 27, 2021
The Wizards fell to the Sixers, 120-95, to go down 0-2 in the series.
It was another tough night for Westbrook in the series even before the popcorn incident. The 32-year-old guard ended the night with 10 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds on 2-of-10 shooting in 29 minutes. Westbrook is only averaging 13 points per game through the first two contests while shooting 30.6 percent from the field. He still hasn’t made a three-pointer.
Philadelphia fans once booed Santa Clause and threw batteries at J.D. Drew, but this isn’t unique to them. A Knicks fan also allegedly tried to spit on Trae Young. The Hawks star has endured “f—- Trae Young” chants at Madison Square Garden throughout the first round series.
The Sixers have one of the most passionate fanbases in the league, but this guy is obviously an idiot. You can’t blame Westbrook for being so upset given the intensity of the game and the frustration that resulted from needing to go into the locker room with a fourth quarter injury. If this dude thought he was being funny, he’s wrong.
This dude should be publicly forced to recite this entire list before the next game in D.C, and then he should be banned from the arena for a while. Philly fans: try to enjoy your awesome team without being jerks about it.
Here’s what Westbrook said after the game:
Russell Westbrook on the fan throwing popcorn: "I wouldn’t come up to me on the street and throw popcorn on my head, because you know what happens…In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 27, 2021
LeBron James also chimed in saying the league needs to protect its players:
By the way WE AS THE PLAYERS wanna see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with a injury!! There’s cameras all over arenas so there’s no excuse! Cause if the was on the other . #ProtectOurPlayers
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 27, 2021
Update: On Thursday morning the Sixers announced they were banning the fan indefinitely and revoking his season tickets.
Statement from the Philadelphia 76ers: Fan who dumped popcorn on Wizards‘ Russell Westbrook has had his season ticket revoked and been banned from Wells Fargo Center indefinitely. pic.twitter.com/jVBWWVcZjT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 27, 2021
We’ll update this story as it develops.