lnside Kevin Durant’s Head
News story after news story has ignited this off-season to be the most dramatic in recent years. The soap opera that has unfolded over the past few months has centered mostly around events on social media. In an industry that relies on player-generated content, they have not failed to disappoint. Even the littlest things like a “follow” can be considered news as the rumor can seemingly outshine a potential transaction. So as we wind down the NBA off-season, it only makes sense that more drama has been created through social media.
In a not entirely shocking headline, Kevin Durant has been outed as having a second twitter account. Kevin uses this “burner” account to answer back to fans that offend him. I use the word “not” because it’s long been suspected that celebrities have fake accounts either run by them or for them. Once a certain point is reached in fame, the social media accounts change in how they are operated. Stars have to be more careful with topics and how they address them to avoid offending people or in contrast with their brand. This online persona can feel very curated. In Kevin’s case, he hasn’t shied away from addressing his critics on Twitter, but this tweet was an athlete in an unfiltered state. Either that or he has started addressing himself in the third person.
He also apparently has a second Instagram account he uses to answer his critics. I encourage you to click on the embedded tweet to find more information thanks to the users of r/NBA.
So why does this matter? It only matters because Kevin Durant lets it matter. He is arguably in the top 5 NBA players of the moment and the only one fretting about how he is perceived by people who don’t matter. Other stars, except for Lebron’s occasional sub-tweets, let their play do the talking and keep the focus of social media to their personal lives and appreciating the fans they do have. They can gaze on the incoming negativity and not be reactive. Durant cannot let go, and it’s been made worse with the divorce. He broke up with OKC and doesn’t need to explain things any further, yet he persists. He’s defensive of how people, particularly in OKC, perceive him. He needs to be the hero and seems to have a hard time being cast in the villain role.
An enormous double standard among sports fan is that when a team cuts a player it’s a business and when a player leaves a team it’s traitorous. Kevin Durant left in the midst of his peak playing years to seek a brighter opportunity on the west coast. The decision to change employers based on a greater opportunity is a rational choice in any other sector. But unlike most other industries, this one exists in and depends on an outside audience.
This outside audience is closer than they’ve ever been to athletes and vice versa. The internet and social media have allowed fans to connect and follow the personal lives of their favourites stars. In turn, these stars are encouraged to share and promote themselves. Sports teams have pushed All-Access as a way to build a bigger fan base and further monetize their employees. Is this all too much?
Some people would say no. Athletes, particularly of Durant’s talent, are paid an exorbitant amount of money to play basketball. There’s time in the gym, time in the film room, time in meetings and time with other commitments along the way, but at the end of the day, but playing basketball is what it simplifies to. We’re in a consuming culture that perpetually wants more. Demands of people who you’ve never met can make one anxious or angry if they allow them inside of their head.
A troll lives with little consequence online. Trolls can say what they want with zero regards for the person on the other side or the subject in question. They don’t have to see the reaction. With regards to a professional athlete, it can be seen as punching up and is commonly accepted as part of the job. I remember asking a friend why he chooses to spend part of his day writing negative comments on athlete’s Instagram pages. “He deserves it. It’s kinda funny.”
Trolls will exist till the end of time. Durant has to remember that. He’s a phenomenal basketball player in a very fruitful time to be so. He might play his best when he has the critics on his mind, but he doesn’t have to let them know that.
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