Kevin Durant rips media at NBA All-Star weekend

MANILA, Philippines – Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant has joined the list of athletes that have made their disapproval of the media known to the public. 

While speaking during the NBA All-Star weekend festivities in New York, Durant said, “To be honest, man, I’m only here talking to y’all because I have to,” according to a number reporters covering the events. 

“So I don’t really care. Y’all not my friends. You’re going to write what you want to write. You’re going to love us one day and hate us the next. That’s a part of it. So I just learn how to deal with y’all.” 

Durant’s animosity seemed to reach a boiling point after he was asked a question about the possibility of his head coach Scott Brooks being fired after this NBA season to due Oklahoma City’s struggles. The Thunder are currently 28-25 and are locked in a close fight for the no. 8 seed in the West. 

“You guys really don’t know shit,” Durant responded to the query. 

In the past, Durant has been a favorite of the media, owing to his soft-spoken personality and eagerness to answer reporters’ questions regardless of the topic. 

But recently, noteworthy professional athletes have taken a more sarcastic and volatile approach to questions from the media, with the most notable example being NFL star Marshawn Lynch.  

The Seattle Seahawks running back has been fined for ditching NFL media sessions multiple times, and when he has been present to answer their questions, he has gone out of his way to give them multiple one-liner responses. 

A few weeks back, Durant’s teammate and All-Star Russell Westbrook told a reporter: “I just don’t like you,” following his team’s win over the Golden State Warriors. Even four-time NBA MVP LeBron James called out the media on his Twitter account for inconsistent reporting a week ago. 

Durant is now trending toward the same direction as the aforementioned players, and gave an explanation for his suddenly irked answers. 

“… I just want to show kids out here that athletes, entertainers, whoever, so-called celebrities, we aren’t robots. We go through emotions. We go through feelings. And I’m just trying to express mine and trying to help people along the way,” Durant said. 

“But I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m just this guy that got programmed to say the right stuff all the time and politically correct answers. I’m done with that. I’m just trying to be me and continue to grow as a man.” 

Earlier this month, Durant called former ESPN employee Chris Palmer a “dumbass” on Twitter for comments he made about the contract extension given to Durant’s teammate Nick Collison. 

It wasn’t the first time during All-Star Weekend Durant was critical of the media. Just a day before he made these comments, the 2014 NBA MVP said that he feels the media has too much influence when it comes to voting for NBA season awards. 

Every year, multiple members of the media are in charge of voting for which players receive the individual and team awards the NBA hands out. 

“I think media and guys get too much power to vote on stuff that quite frankly I don’t think you really know a lot about,” Durant said.

Durant will be coming off the bench for the Western All-Stars in Monday’s, February 16 (PH time) NBA All-Star Game. He’s averaging 25.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 26 games this season.

– Rappler.com