Washington Wizards Westbrook Speaks Out After Fan Pours Popcorn On Him

It was an ugly scene on Wednesday night as a fan attending the NBA playoff game in Philadelphia poured popcorn on Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook as he left the court with an ankle injury.

The incident got ugly. To the surprise of no one, Westbrook became enraged and had to be held back by multiple Wizards staffers and arena security guards as he went down the tunnel limping with roughly 10 minutes left in Game Two. The 76ers ultimately won 120-95.

A number of players in the game spoke out, with many saying that fans have too much access to players and that things are getting out of hand.

"The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f--- they want to do -- it's just out of pocket," Westbrook said.

"There are certain things that cross the line. Any other setting ... a guy were to come up on the street and pour popcorn on my head, you know what happens.

"In these arenas, you got to start protecting the players. We'll see what the NBA does."

The fan got a simple ejection from the incident with no other punishment.

Wizards coach Scott Brooks said whoever the fan is should not be allowed back to any games and should have a permanent ban from the league and from league-wide events.

"Very disrespectful. Philadelphia is better than that," Brooks said.















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Matt has been a part of the Cleveland Sports landscape working in the media since 1994 when he graduated from broadcasting school. His coverage beats include the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers. He's written three books, and won the "2020 AP Sports Stringer Lifetime Service Award."