LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 25: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on February 25, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers have disappointed this season. Expectations before the season were sky high, and right now, it’s looking as though they could miss the playoffs altogether.
Any team LeBron James plays for is expected to compete for a championship, that’s just how it goes. But the 37-year-old is now in danger of missing the playoffs for only the fourth time in his career.
Russell Westbrook criticism has officially gone too far
Los Angeles Lakers fans are some of the most brutal fans around the league. They’re not shy about expressing their feelings about the team, no matter how good or bad they are doing.
So, when they booed the Lakers in Los Angeles not too long ago, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The Lakers have 17 rings – fans expect greatness, especially with James in town.
The only person who has received the majority of the blame this year is Russell Westbrook. The former MVP was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Lakers this past offseason in a move that was criticized by many.
Westbrook has not been playing up to the high standards most fans set for him at the beginning of the season. His shooting struggles have really hurt on a Lakers team that lacks any sort of floor spacing outside of Malik Monk and Carmelo Anthony.
The constant criticism is something the veteran has faced his entire career, but things have been even worse this year, it seems. And recently, Westbrook spoke out about this issue and how it’s been affecting him.
Los Angeles</a> Lakers have disappointed this season. Expectations before the season were sky high, and right now, it’s looking as though they could miss the playoffs altogether.</p>
<p>Any team LeBron James plays for is expected to compete for a championship, that’s just how it goes. But the 37-year-old is now in danger of missing the playoffs for only the fourth time in his career.</p>
<h2>Russell Westbrook criticism has officially gone too far</h2>
<p>Los Angeles Lakers fans are some of the most brutal fans around the league. They’re not shy about expressing their feelings about the team, no matter how good or bad they are doing.</p>
<p>So, when they booed the Lakers in Los Angeles not too long ago, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The Lakers have 17 rings – fans expect greatness, especially with James in town.</p>
<p>The only person who has received the majority of the blame this year is Russell Westbrook. The former MVP was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Lakers this past offseason in a move that was criticized by many.</p>
<p>Westbrook has not been playing up to the high standards most fans set for him at the beginning of the season. His shooting struggles have really hurt on a Lakers team that lacks any sort of floor spacing outside of Malik Monk and Carmelo Anthony.</p>
<p>The constant criticism is something the veteran has faced his entire career, but things have been even worse this year, it seems. And recently, Westbrook spoke out about this issue and how it’s been affecting him.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The story </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-442820" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1088968392.jpeg" alt="Russell Westbrook criticism has officially gone too far" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1088968392.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1088968392-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 01: Russell Westbrook (R) talks with wife Nina Westbrook (L) and son Noah Westbrook at his Why Not Zer0.2 sneaker launch on January 01, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Cassy Athena/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Russell Westbrook criticism has officially gone too far: The story</h2>
<p>Russell Westbrook’s wife, Nina Westbrook, recently <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://nypost.com/2022/03/07/russell-westbrooks-wife-snaps-at-skip-bayless-over-trolling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke out on Twitter</a>, criticizing sports media member Skip Bayless for his constant slandering of Westbrook’s name.</p>
<p>She talked about how Bayless blocked her on Twitter after some comments she made about him, calling him a hypocrite, as he comments about her husband all the time without repercussions.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/RockTheBabyRuss/status/1499856951030779904</p>
<p>Comments were then clarified, as Bayless tweeted back at Nina, thanking her for telling people he didn’t block her. In a fairly respectful tweet, he said that he has no problem with her criticism, but also that he won’t stop telling “the truth as I see it.”</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dear Mrs. Westbrook: Thank you for clarifying that I didn't block you. I've never blocked anybody and never will. I welcome your criticism and appreciate your defending your husband. But I will continue to tell the truth as I see it.</p>
<p>— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://twitter.com/RealSkipBayless/status/1500303630687105028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>March 6, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>But the point of this interaction is that the constant slander of Westbrook is not only affecting him, but it’s affecting his family. With someone as famous as Westbrook, those around him are bound to hear the comments made about him.</p>
<p>This is something Westbrook touched on recently in one of his press conferences. He spoke about how he plans on dealing with this slander moving forward, telling a cute story about his son Noah in the process.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"I stand behind my wife with how she's feeling…it's reached a point where it's really weighing on my family." <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://twitter.com/russwest44?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@russwest44 shares his thoughts on the comments made by his wife saying she and her family are "harassed on a daily basis". <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://t.co/ize5TLvVnb">pic.twitter.com/ize5TLvVnb
<p>— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://twitter.com/SpectrumSN/status/1501064010724085762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>March 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>The fact that Westbrook’s wife, kids, mom, and other family members are starting to be affected is when it’s clear that things have gone too far. It’s time to leave Westbrook alone, and here’s why…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The reasoning </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-442821" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/08/russell-westbrook-criticism/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1088968348.jpeg" alt="Russell Westbrook criticism has officially gone too far" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1088968348.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1088968348-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 01: Russell Westbrook holds son Noah Westbrook at his Why Not Zer0.2 sneaker launch on January 01, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Cassy Athena/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Russell Westbrook criticism has officially gone too far: The reasoning</h2>
<p>Russell Westbrook is a human being. Is he having the best season? No. By all accounts, he’s having one of the worst seasons of his professional basketball career.</p>
<p>But that’s the point – it’s a career. Westbrook is a professional basketball player. As in, playing basketball is his job. Making things personal is where the line needs to be drawn.</p>
<p>Let’s say a Subway worked puts tomatoes on your sandwich when you specifically ask for no tomatoes. Are you going to go up to them, call them heinous names, and proceed to attack them on the internet? Of course not.</p>
<p>Now, the obvious difference that most will immediately point out is the money. Subway workers probably make minimum wage, and Westbrook is being paid $44 million a year and underperforming on that contract.</p>
<p>The fact that his salary is even public knowledge is even a weird concept. Usually, it’s frowned upon to ask someone about how much money they make, but NBA players have their salary made available for all to see.</p>
<p>But by all means, criticize him. As Westbrook said in his interview, he accepts the criticism. It is quite literally the job of the media to critique teams and players, and fans are fully entitled to do the same.</p>
<p>There’s a fine line between criticism and slander. Talk about how the Lakers need to change Westbrook’s role, don’t get mad on the internet and start attacking the man’s livelihood.</p>
<p>If you’re mad at Westbrook, talk about it, sure. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and clearly, the popular one is that Westbrook doesn’t fit in with the Lakers. And maybe he doesn’t.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, though, basketball is a game. It’s a childhood game that people get paid millions to play. If your favorite team doesn’t win a championship or make the playoffs, it quite literally does not affect your life in the slightest.</p>
<p>Being upset at a player is totally normal, as fans have grown attached to and root for their favorite teams. But don’t let that feeling turn into you attacking someone.</p>
<p>Criticize Westbrook all you want, but understand the fact that anything past that is taking things a step too far.</p>
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