After a boy sitting at courtside hit Russell Westbrook during the Nuggets-Thunder game at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday, Oklahoma City’s star guard said fans have too much leeway to touch players. Russell Westbrook pulled the dad card on a Nuggets fan after the kid gave him a little push. pic.twitter.com/b4nBTXlV9r — ESPN (@espn) February 27, 2019 “He hit me,” Westbrook said in a post-game interview with ESPN. “So I told his dad, you know, ‘Be careful, man. You can’t have your son just hitting random people. I don’t know him. He don’t know me. So, just let him know. You just got to control your kids.’ It’s that simple. Be responsible for his kid. Watch the games right there, have fun, enjoy. “For all the fans, though, it’s too much leeway for the fans to touch the players and get away with it.” Westbrook added: “There’s got to be some type of rule or some boundaries set that you can’t allow that.” The Nuggets would win the game 121-112. It’s not the first time Westbrook had an on-court fan interaction at the Pepsi Center. In February 2018, he shoved a Nuggets fan who taunted him on the court after the game. — Joe Nguyen, The Denver Post 💥 A special offer for Sports Omelette readers! Subscribe to The Denver Post’s sports coverage for just 99¢ for the first month and only $6.99/month thereafter. Cancel anytime. What’s on Tap? Nuggets: Utah Jazz, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, ALT, TNT | Buy tickets Utah Jazz, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, ALT, TNT | Buy tickets Avalanche: At San Jose Sharks, 8:30 p.m. Friday, ALT | Buy tickets TV/RADIO: Here’s what sports are airing today Scoreboard NHL: Avalanche 3, Canucks 2 Full story | Box score Check out our new and improved stats page. Must-Read “I’m not going to sit on my hands,” Elway said. “I’m not going to try to draft (a quarterback) and wait three years.” Read more… Avalanche forward Colin Wilson remembers having the same problem in Nashville. 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Read more… Parting Shot Monday’s Clippers-Mavericks game created headlines when Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers called a late timeout and encouraged the home crowd to cheer for Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, who may be in his final NBA season. Earlier in the game, Nowitzki was indirectly involved in another episode that caused ripples — and caused the Clippers’ announcing team to apologize. Read more… Get in Touch If you see something that’s cause for question or have a comment, thought or suggestion, email me at dboniface@denverpost.com or tweet me @danielboniface.<doc-sep>David Zalubowski/Associated Press Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook called for better protection for NBA players from fans after a young fan hit him on the arm during Tuesday's 121-112 road loss to the Denver Nuggets. As seen below, a fan stood up and tapped Westbrook on the arm during a stoppage in play: According to Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, Westbrook said: "For all fans, though, there's too much leeway for the fans to be able to touch the players and get away with it, and then you can't react and do the things that we need to do to protect ourselves. ... But I can't do nothing. What am I going to do, hop in the stands? But there has to be some type of rule or some type of boundaries set that you can't allow that." Westbrook has had no shortage of run-ins with fans over the past year or so, which likely played into his frustration. Last February, a fan walked onto the court after a game in Denver, no less, and got in Westbrook's face. He, in turn, pushed the fan. Then, during OKC's first-round playoff loss to the Utah Jazz, Westbrook swiped at a fan who was recording him on a phone as he walked to the locker room. Video Play Button Videos you might like Tuesday's situation ended up being more innocent by comparison, but Westbrook added: "He [the kid] hit me, so I told his dad, 'Be careful, man. You can't have your son just hitting random people.' I don't know him, he don't know me. So, just letting him know, 'You've just got to control your kids.'" Aside from fan-related issues, the 2017 MVP and eight-time All-Star is having another strong season with averages of 22.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game, which has him in position to average a triple-double for the third consecutive campaign. Also, despite the loss, the Thunder sit third in the Western Conference at 38-22, behind only the Golden State Warriors and Nuggets.<doc-sep>
No one has ever accused Russell Westbrook of not being expressive. On Tuesday in a loss against the Nuggets in Denver, Westbrook had a visible reaction to a young fan touching him when he got near the sideline. Westbrook leaned down, gave the kid a little pat, and ran off. The kid and his dad looked a bit confused when he ran off, with Nikola Jokic overseeing the situation. While Westbrook was nice about it, it turns out he wanted the kid to know you can't just be touching random players when they're near the sideline. "He hit me," Westbrook said after the game, via The Oklahoman's Maddie Lee. "So I told his dad, be careful man you can't have your son just hitting random people. I don't know him, he don't know me. So I just let him know ... You just gotta control your kids. It's that simple ... Watch the game ... Have fun, enjoy." Westbrook added that fans have a bit too much freedom courtside. "For all the fans though, there's too much leeway for the fans to be able to touch the players and get away with it," Westbrook added. "We can't react. You know, do what we need to do to protect ourselves. So it's important to understand -- kids, whoever it is -- dad, moms, they can say what they want as long as it's respectful. But the touching to me is off-limits. Westbrook added that he didn't know it was a kid until he turned around. Needless to say, the NBA never wants another Malice at the Palace situation, and it's unlikely players would let that happen again. With that being said, the league may well implement some kind of policy against fans touching players as a precautionary measure in the wake of Westbrook's comments. Last year, Westbrook got into a verbal altercation with a Jazz fan who tried to high five him after the Thunder's Game 6 loss to Utah, so this type of thought isn't new to him. Either way, Westbrook handled this situation well. Taking something that clearly visibly annoys him and turning it into a teaching moment is a veteran way to handle it, especially given Westbrook's look of annoyance when he first turned around. On Wednesday's "Off the Bench" podcast, Raja Bell and guest host Tommy Tran talked about Westbrook's encounter with the young fan. Bell said that Westbrook is in the right for what he said, not only about players' safety, but also for the fans'. Professional athletes are always flying around on the sidelines, all it takes is one wrong turn for someone to get hurt. Bell added that it was the right move to say that kids' parents are responsible for their safety. Listen and Subscribe to Off The Bench with Kanell & Bell: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn | YouTube