When Michael Rapaport leaked direct messages between he and Kevin Durant, KD’s latest social media antics shocked many. However, these offensive DMs are just the latest in a string of events, spanning years back, that have the potential to overshadow his impressive career with his selfish actions and immaturity. Durant’s thin-skinned ego is what separates him from the likes of LeBron and Jordan, and leaves him outside of being an NBA ‘great,’ as those two would never let these kind of things distract from their team. Despite having years of embarrassing arguments and beefs, this takes the cake as the absolute worst moment of his career.
Durant has a long history of being thin-skinned and egotistical. He tweets and responds to criticism without giving second thought to repercussions or professionalism. It all started when Rapaport called KD sensitive, which KD then sensitively went after him. I won’t quote them here due to their NSFW nature, but we can give the play-by-play skipping the expletives. What ensued was a threatening, homophobic, and misogynistic string of messages in which Durant sent his address to fight and ‘spit in his face,’ dragged Rappaport’s wife into the argument, and called him several homophobic slurs.
Following this, KD released an apology saying “I’m sorry that people seen that language I used, that’s not really what I want people to hear and see from me.” While he rightfully apologized, it misses the point. Nowhere in the apology did he actually admit he was wrong for the disgusting language, instead presenting the sentiment that he didn’t want people to see him speak like that. The leak grabbed all of the headlines away from his team going 18-3 since Durant being sidelined in February.
While many challenged KD about these messages, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was loud about his displeasure today on First Take. Smith said: “You missed about 25-26 games… everybody’s waiting on you” and “Kevin Durant comes off as highly sensitive and immature. I happen to like Kevin Durant… That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know better.”
Smith’s comment on the situation echoes what many around the NBA Community were thinking. He should’ve known better. After 14+ years in the spotlight, Durant should know that nothing he says is private. Durant should know that comments like these are selfish and distracting from his team, as well as offensive to the communities he marginalized. LeBron and Jordan wouldn’t have, and still won’t, allow themselves to be this immature and damaging to their team.
This time, Kevin Durant took his ‘villain’ image too far.
