Is there anything this man can’t do? I would seriously give the Oakland Raiders a better chance of winning this weekend if they had Westbrook as their quarterback.
With 3:13 to go in the first quarter, Westbrook tossed the ball at Maddox’s head after the Thunder called a timeout. Maddox turned his head as Westbrook let her rip, and it hit the referee squarely in the dome piece.
Westbrook was given a technical foul, which is his 10th of the season. After 16 technical fouls, you receive a one-game suspension.
After the game, Westbrook addressed the situation, saying it was an accident.
Via ESPN:
“I called his name. He turned right at me and then looked away. I don’t know,” Westbrook said. “I don’t know what to tell you, brother. I really don’t. I’m not the type of guy … I would never, ever disrespect the game like that and throw the ball at the referee. I’ve never done it before. That’s just not even heard of in the game before. To get a tech, it’s crazy to me. But you take the good with the bad.”
Had this been someone with a worse reputation than Russ, like a Boogie Cousins or Lance Stephenson, they probably would have been tossed. And although Westbrook is known to be a fiery competitor, he’s also known to be respectful so a move like this would be completely out of character. Good on the refs for not tossing him.
Anyway, Oakland, take a good look at this video and tell me he isn’t better than whoever the hell you’re starting this weekend against Houston.
Thunder's Russell Westbrook drills referee in the head with the ball pic.twitter.com/57PygvLNHG
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 5, 2017
