Russell Westbrook hates being called “Westbrick.” Unfortunately for him, that’s not against the rules.
Late in the second quarter of the Clippers’ win over the Grizzlies, Westbrook had a fan kicked out of the game. His crime? Yelling: “Westbrick!”
According to the NBA fan code of conduct, fans have to refrain from “foul or abusive language and obscene gestures,” but Benjamin Orgel, the 30-year-old fan Westbrook kicked out, told the New York Post he didn’t do any of those things.
“He had his back to me, and all I said was, ‘Westbrick,’” recounted Orgel. “I didn’t say, ‘You suck.’ I didn’t say anything. I just said ‘West-brick,’ one time, like chanting it.”
Westbrook asked what Orgel said, and he repeated “Westbrick.” Then he said it again. Westbrook got heated.
“‘What the f–k did you call me?’” Orgel recounted. “I said, ‘Westbrick.’ Then he said, ‘Throw him out of the f–king game.’”
Orgel was ejected, but after security from both the NBA and the Clippers confirmed what Orgel said with Westbrook, he was allowed to return to his seat “like 30 seconds later.”
For someone who disapproves of insulting language, Westbrook had no problem telling Dillon Brooks he was “trash” roughly a minute before he got the fan ejected.
Last year, Westbrook announced that he would push back on anyone who “besmirches my name” by calling him “Westbrick,” a reference to his subpar shooting. He told reporters, “It’s shaming my name, my legacy for my kids. It’s a name that means, not just to me, but to my wife, to my mom, my dad, the ones that kind of paved the way for me.”
Yes, this is Westbrook’s reaction to a punny nickname, and while some may persuasively argue that puns should be illegal, the fact remains that they’re not.
It’s a remarkably soft reaction from a player who has had no hesitation in calling Kevin Durant “cupcake” after he signed with the Warriors and whom many players call “the most relentless trash-talker in the league” — especially since, at the time, Westbrook had made eight of 10 shots in the game.
There are times when fan behavior veers into abuse. This wasn’t that. This was an ultra-sensitive multimillionaire calling in his private security to harass a regular person who made a tame joke about his name.
It’s also a guideline for any opposing player who wants to know one word that will get under Westbrook’s skin very easily. Wednesday in Memphis, he was Westshook.
