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Lakers' LeBron James Sounds Off on Sixers Fan After Russell Westbrook Incident

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James comes to the defense of Russell Westbrook on Twitter after the Wizards guard had popcorn thrown at him by a Sixers fan.

Justin Grasso

Lakers' LeBron James Sounds Off on Sixers Fan After Russell Westbrook Incident
Lakers' LeBron James Sounds Off on Sixers Fan After Russell Westbrook Incident /

Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was having a bad night on Wednesday. It got even worse when the veteran All-Star had to leave the court with a lower-body injury. After spending some time on the court getting checked out by medical trainers, Westbrook was helped up off the floor, walking gingerly back to the locker room.

Suddenly, something hit him on his way through the tunnel. A Philadelphia 76ers fan dumped popcorn on the star guard's head. As expected, Westbrook went off, looking for a way to retaliate as security guards held him back from entering the arena bowl once again.

Although the incident blew over quickly, and the guilty fan was escorted out of the arena, NBA players are not happy with the way everything went down as Westbrook was getting escorted back to his team's locker room.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James wasted no time jumping on Twitter and sounding off on the situation. As James has dealt with his fair share of disrespectful interactions around the league, the star guard feels for his fellow NBA star.

"WE AS THE PLAYERS wanna see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with an injury," the All-Star tweeted on Wednesday. "There’s cameras all over arenas so there’s no excuse! Cause if the [shoe] was on the other [foot] #ProtectOurPlayers," he concluded. 

After the game, Westbrook himself reacted to the incident echoing a similar sentiment as LeBron's. "I wouldn’t come up to me on the street and throw popcorn on my head," the Wizards' star said, according to The Athletic's Fred Katz. "Because you know what happens. In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does."

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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