Durant’s Dilemma
Who knows what Kevin Durant was thinking when he thought to respond to a tweet from an otherwisenondescript follower by dissing the Thunder? He was asked to give “one legitimate reason for leaving [Oklahoma City] other than getting a championship” by a fan who, based on an account by The Ringer, was bored and sought a conversation close to midnight Sunday. Apparently, he, too, didn’t have much to do then, and so immediately crafted a couple of replies. “He didn’t like the organization or playing for [ head coach] Billy Donovan. His roster wasn’t that good, it was just him and Russ [ Westbrook].” “Imagine taking Russ off that team, see how bad they were. KD can’t win a championship with those cats.”
That Durant engaged with a nobody wasn’t a surprise; he has been known to give as much as he can take in social media. That his choice of words wound up throwing the Thunder under the bus was. Even as what he posted reflected general sentiment, his candor magnified the meaning. It’s bad enough that he validated the query. What’s worse: His tweets were in the third person, leading quarters to believe, and with reason, that he meant to post them through the use of a fake account. There he was, fresh off a dominant title run in which he claimed Finals Most Valuable Player honors, and yet he felt moved to defend himself from criticism in a domain most others of his stature wisely choose to avoid. If there’s any saving grace for Durant, it’s that he owned up to the mistake. In a tech conference no less, he was asked about the twin postings, and he copped to them, fast. No excuses of his Twitter account being hacked, or of a friend using his mobile phone without his knowledge. Just a pure unadulterated admission of guilt, accompanied by the expected mea culpas. “I don’t regret clapping back at anybody or talking to fans on Twitter. I do regret using my former coach’s name and the former organization that I played for. That was childish. That was idiotic, all those type of words. I regret doing that, and I apologize for that.”
How, and when, Durant can live down his transgression remains to be seen. He disclosed that he had already reached out to Donovan, but argued that he intends to keep getting into back and forths on Twitter and Instagram. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop engaging with fans,” he said. Hopefully, though, he’ll be doing it with more finesse, if for nothing else than to avoid lending more credence to the contention that he’s too sensitive for his own good. It’s one thing for him to be true to himself, and quite another for him to feed the “cupcake” narrative that compels him to counter every perceived slight.
To be sure, the use of criticism to fuel competitiveness is not unique to Durant. On the other hand, his predilection to take it to extremes exposes his pettiness. As even the latest release of his shoe line shows, he is moved to find channels to address his insecurities. Which is just too bad, because his myriad accomplishments give him ample cause to be proud. Perhaps, one
day, he can allow himself to be happy, too.
If there’s any saving grace for Durant, it’s that he owned up to the mistake. In a tech conference no less, he was asked about the twin postings, and he copped to them, fast. No excuses of his Twitter account being hacked, or of a friend using his mobile phone without his knowledge. Just a pure unadulterated admission of guilt, accompanied by the expected mea culpas.