The racial double standard in professional sports was on full display during a recent NBA game in Oklahoma City, and the silence from the usual media outrage machine speaks volumes.
According to Western Journal, the incident unfolded Saturday night when the Houston Rockets defeated the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 112-106 in a tense Western Conference matchup. Emotions were already running high, not least because Rockets star Kevin Durant has a long and bitter history with Oklahoma City after his acrimonious split from the Thunder in 2016, a move that left many fans feeling betrayed and tensions still simmering nearly a decade later.
During a third-quarter stoppage in play, Durant briefly stepped off the court and was met with heckling from a Thunder fan, a common enough occurrence in modern sports arenas. Instead of ignoring the taunts or responding with a bit of harmless banter, Durant chose to escalate, delivering a racially charged and vaguely menacing retort that would have ended careers had the racial dynamics been reversed.
I know where you live, white boy, Durant fired back at the fan. The remark, captured on video and circulated online, was not only racially loaded but carried an unmistakable undertone of threat, particularly in the context of a high-profile athlete addressing an ordinary spectator.
It goes without saying that if a white NBA player like, say, Dallas Mavericks rookie phenom Cooper Flagg called a black NBA fan boy, it would be an overnight scandal. Network shows like FS1s First Things First and ESPNs First Take would immediately pounce on the story, dedicating multiple segments to the racially charged incident.
You could already hear ESPNs Stephen A. Smith foaming at the mouth, as he often does with any perceived racial grievance, and speaking in all caps about Flagg. (To be clear, Flagg has been a model citizen his rookie season.)
But if a black NBA superstar says something equally charged to a white fan? Crickets almost quite literally.
Look, to be clear, this isnt to start some witch hunt against Durant. But it is to call attention to the racial double standard present in sports, as well as society at large.
Racism is racism, folks. It can be aimed at anyone be they white, black, Hispanic or Asian.
But theres only one type of racism that seems to have the tacit approval of the left: anti-white racism. To say nothing about the veiled threat that comes along with I know where you live, Durants outburst is a prime example of this racial double standard.
Again, had the races been reversed, there would likely be calls to suspend the white NBA player and wall-to-wall coverage of the incident. But with Durant? You can find an article or two about it, but nothing from prominent outlets like ESPN (a broadcasting partner of the NBA).
And the silence is deafening and telling. And the world being told is hypocrisy.
To this writer, Durants racially charged outburst at a fan isnt a white or black issue. Its a consistency issue.
Make no mistake, anti-black racism is abhorrent and a scourge on society. It should be condemned as loudly as it usually is by the masses.
That being said, where is the same energy when the race roles are reversed? Oh, thats right, anti-white racism has basically become institutionalized and largely accepted in the modern culture.
Is Durant somehow above reproach? A suspension might be too much, but even a symbolic slap-on-the-wrist fine feels in order here. The fact that its not, or even being discussed, is disgusting, unacceptable, and needs to be called out loudly.
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