Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant's Mom heckled by fans during Warriors-Thunder

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:18 p.m. ET

Fansided, Brad Washington/Fansided

While attending her son’s game, Kevin Durant’s mom heard some mean things while in attendance for his first game back against in Oklahoma City.

As the old saying goes, “hate is love confused”. The Oklahoma City Thunder fans know all too well about this particular rationale, booing their former superstar Kevin Durant every time he touched the basketball last night. It was Durant’s first return to OKC in a different uniform, as he and his new team the Golden State Warriors defeated the Thunder 130-114. Durant, showered with boos and explicit words, scored 34 points on a efficient 12-of-21 shooting from the floor. While it appears the behavior of the fans didn’t effect Durant in the end, it struck a nerve to someone close to him; his mother.

Wanda Durant talked to ESPN and voiced her displeasure and disappointment in the Oklahoma City crowd Saturday night.

“The most vicious things you could say, they said about my son tonight. It’s hurtful,” Wanda Durant told ESPN after the Golden State Warriors’ 130-114 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“We poured our heart into this place. Not just him. Our family. This is basketball. This is not whether or not you’re going to make it into heaven.”

Wanda Durant sat in the stands behind the Warriors’ bench for the game. She said several fans approached her and said obscene things about her son, to her.

“They called him a snake, a sellout, a b—h,” she said. “It’s just a sad day. I understand that they loved him. I do understand it. But the name calling. The people with the cupcakes on their backs. … It didn’t have to be like this.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the fans booed Durant. But calling someone out of their name for joining another team? Not sure about that. Picture it, grown men and women calling someone out of their names over basketball. Yes, basketball. But as I mentioned previously, hate is just confused love.

It’s really important as fans of sports to keep things in perspective. There isn’t anything wrong with being a die-hard fan or to be emotionally invested. But, once the game is over, doesn’t mean our life is. LeBron James, though speaking emotionally on the topic, summed it up best here.