One of the great things about being a blog writer is that I am not beholden to anyone. Without restrictions I can say what I want and the devil may care if those that read what I write like it or not, agree with it or approve of it, or not. Today the issue has come up in our daily newspaper in my hometown of Oklahoma City, of the likeability of former Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant. The local writer used Kevin Durant’s comment about if you don’t like what you are seeing in the NBA playoffs, don’t watch. Then he went on to say that the problem is not the message Durant delivered, but Durant himself. He tells that the good and clean of the past of Kevin Durant is gone and turned into the not so nice and badass wan-ta-be that is now KD’s persona of the present. Durant has switched places with the great Lebron James and now is the negative face of the NBA while James is the positive one. Or as it was put, “the villain turned hero” for James and the opposite for Durant, “the hero turned villain.”
Kevin Durant: “We wanna go out there and win by as much as possible, and play as great as you can,” he said. “Whatever happens with the score, happens. Relay that to the fans who feel upset. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”
The fact of the matter, Kevin Durant plays for the most hated team in the NBA. More than Cleveland, the NBA champs. And add that Kevin Durant has ascended to become the most despicable player on that team, and the NBA as a whole. His decisions, even as a Thunder, to shed the “nice” guy personality in favor of a darker, hard edged in-your-face player/person, was not as successful as he had waned early on. But his unsportsmanlike decision to abandon the Thunder for new team-mates in the Bay area did the trick for many, not only his former fans along Reno Street in OKC, but fans all across the Association. Now with a “screw you” if you do not like what you see to NBA fans, Durant is coming to the point of no return for many that follow the big fellow. It is one thing to call out other players, coaches, and teams, but the line has been crossed when you crap on the fans. What you say means something. Durant’s transgression to the negative says that this man has identify issues. I can see the man at age fifty, a disgruntled former super-star, not as liked as he would have wanted. It is one thing to want to have fun when you have the world as an audience. But the world is watching. When the final act has played out, and the final clap of the audience does not last a lifetime, Kevin Durant, please understand what you say and do is being watched by all. There is another world outside the limited boundaries of the Bay area. When you accept your induction into the Hall-of-Fame, will you be loved?
