An ugly incident occurred during Monday night's Thunder-Jazz game in the NBA, but it had little to do with anything on the court.
Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook – arguably one of the league's five most popular and important players – was caught on video apparently threatening a couple sitting near courtside at Vivint Smart Home Arena, Utah's home stadium.
The on-camera rant, which included a number of expletives and threats of potential violence, apparently has Westbrook yelling in the direction of Shane Keisel and his wife (presumptive Jazz fans):
"I promise you. You think I'm playing? I swear to God, I swear to God. I’ll f*** you up. You and your wife, I'll f*** you up."
Westbrook wouldn't apologize for the incident in the post-game session with the media.
His response for confronting the couple stemmed from an alleged comment from Shane Keisel, demanding that Westbrook "get on his knees like you used to."
"For me, I'm just not going to continue to take disrespect for my family," said Westbrook. "I just think there's got to be something done. There's got to be some consequences for those types of people that come to the game just to say and do whatever they want to say. I don't think it's fair to the players — not just to me, but I don’t think it’s fair to the players."
BELOW: VIEW SHANE KEISEL'S INCIDENT EXPLANATION
Whether Keisel's alleged comment was racist or homophobic in tone, there's obviously no place for such things at any sporting event.
With courtside seating, the NBA grants incredible access to fans who are willing to pay substantial money for high-end seats. However, as part of that social contract, a code of fan conduct must be upheld at all times.
Regarding the fallout, the NBA must conduct a full investigation of Westbrook and Keisel's actions and then act accordingly, if punitive measures are warranted.
The upside to Monday's fracas: It didn't devolve into another infamous Malice At The Palace incident from November 2004, when Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest went into the stands at The Palace of Auburn Hills (home of the Detroit Pistons) to confront and subsequently fight a number of fans.
A chaotic and gruesome brawled ensued, putting a negative spotlight on the NBA for months.
As a result, major suspensions were levied down to a number of players, including Artest (75 games).
As a postscript to Monday's incident, Barstool Sports dug up a number of old tweets from Keisel, apparently chastising Westbrook.
In one tweet (April 2018), Keisel referred to Westbrook as a "classless s**t."
Six months later, Keisel apparently tweeted out that Westbrook "needs to go back where he came from!! #MAGA" ... a dual reference to African-American origins and President Trump's campaign slogan for 2016.
At this point, it's unknown if Keisel's old tweets prompted Westbrook's atypical reaction on Monday night.
