On Monday, Lakers guard Russell Westbrook spoke at length about the criticism both he and his family have faced this season.
"I 100 percent stand behind my wife and how she's feeling," Westbrook said when asked about a Twitter thread his wife, Nina Westbrook, posted earlier in the day about the daily harassment she's been getting. "It's not just about this year. Right now, she's reached a point and my family has reached a point where it's really weighing on them.
"It's very unfortunate just for me personally because this is just a game. It's not the end all be all. When it comes to basketball, I don't mind the criticism of missing and making shots, but the moment it becomes where my name is getting shamed, it becomes an issue.
"I stand behind my wife with how she's feeling...it's reached a point where it's really weighing on my family." @russwest44 shares his thoughts on the comments made by his wife saying she and her family are "harassed on a daily basis". pic.twitter.com/ize5TLvVnb
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 8, 2022
"I've kind of let it go in the past because it never really bothered me, but it really kind of hit me the other day. Me and my wife were at teacher-parent conferences for my son and the teacher told me, 'Noah, he's so proud of his last name. He writes it everywhere. He writes it on everything. He tells everybody and walks around and says, 'I'm Westbrook.'
"I kind of sat there in shock, and it hit me, like, 'Damn. I can no longer allow people' — for example, 'Westbrick' to me is now shaming. It's shaming my name, my legacy for my kids. It's a name that means, not just to me, but to my wife, to my mom, my dad, the ones that kind of paved the way for me."
Westbrook's comments came following the Lakers' loss to the Spurs. A video went viral of Westbrook responding to a fan during the game, telling them "don't disrespect my name." A fan was then heard calling him "Westbrick."
Russ wasn't having the disrespect 💯
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 8, 2022
(via @s_universal) pic.twitter.com/s4Vc0WqlUT
In his first season with the Lakers, Westbrook is averaging 18.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. He's shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from 3-point range, both of which are among the lowest rates in his career.
The Lakers entered the season with the second-best odds to win the championship but find themselves in Play-In territory as the regular season draws to a close. Though he's not the only reason for the Lakers' struggles, Westbrook has received a lot of the blame.
MORE: Breaking down LA's postseason odds, remaining schedule
Westbrook said that it's gotten to the point where he doesn't want to bring his kids to games.
"I don't want them to hear people calling their dad nicknames and other names for no reason, because he's playing the game that he loves. It's gotten so bad where my family don't even want to go to home games, to any game, because of — not just the media across the globe using their platforms to constantly shame, shame, shame me.
"It's just super unfortunate and it's super upsetting to me, and I'm at a point to where I'm going to continue to address it."
