Contrary to popular belief, Kevin Durant has no beef with the media. Well, not all of them at least.
A few days ago, Durant took a swipe at the media in general by suggesting his Oklahoma City Thunder are not taken seriously for one reason or the other. To the common sports fan, this type of criticism is nothing new. Stars on teams are always looking for ways to play the disrespect card whenever possible, and this was just the latest in that long line of media-blaming acts.
“Man, the [media and experts are] always trying to nitpick us,” Kevin Durant told ESPN.com. “I mean, they don’t like us. They don’t like how Russell [Westbrook] talks to the media, they don’t like how I talk to the media. So obviously, yeah, they’re not going to give us the benefit of the doubt.”
Whether Durant has simply cooled off or realized how his words were being portrayed, Durant took an opportunity a couple of days later to clarify some of his previous remarks and let everyone know he does not have an ax to grind with the media, as a whole at least.
“I also got something else to say, if you guys don’t mind,” Durant said. “I’ve seen over the last couple of days, or couple of years, actually, that I hate the media. I actually do love you guys. If I hated someone, I wouldn’t talk to them, I wouldn’t interact with them, I wouldn’t laugh and joke with them, I wouldn’t talk about anything other than what you guys ask me.”
Durant has been going back and forth with certain members of the media for a while now. Most noteworthy was Durant’s feud with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, which got out of hand pretty quickly. Durant’s relationship with the media has even been analyzed and broken down well before that episode.
From where I sit, Durant is not afraid to speak his feelings and tell the media when he thinks they have something wrong or out of context, and that is good. Some folks in the media world need to have their statements and reports called out from time to time. But Durant wants you to know if he says something, it may not be a general attack on the entire industry.
[ESPN]
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