Fansided

Raptors fans should have reacted like Drake when Kevin Durant got injured

By Josh Hill

TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 10: Rapper, Drake talks to Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors after sustaining an injury during Game Five of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors on June 10, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 10: Rapper, Drake talks to Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors after sustaining an injury during Game Five of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors on June 10, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Drake has been living rent-free in the Warriors head this NBA Finals but paid his dues when Kevin Durant got injured.

They cheered when he got injured.

That’s going to be the statement attached to Raptors fans whether or not they watch their team win its first ever NBA title this week. Despite how lovable and great Raptors fans have been during Toronto’s run to the NBA Finals, many of them cheered Kevin Durant rupturing his Achilles in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Drake, perhaps the loudest most animated fan, was not among them.

When Durant had to be carried off the court, he had to pass by Drake who was absolutely distraught over what had just happened. There was no trolling or cheering from Drake, just utter disbelief that the series just lost its best player and greatest competitor.

A lot can be said about Drake’s courtside antics during the playoffs, and a lot has. The NBA sent him a formal warning to chill out and many in the Twittersphere have noted that he maybe needs to dial it back a little. A lot of that might be true, but all Raptors fans should have been Drake when Durant went down.

Depending on how many spoonfuls of glue you ate for breakfast, this may or may not come as a surprise: Sports is not life and death. There is absolutely no reason to cheer for the injury of another human being under any circumstance, no matter how high the stakes. The line between wanting your team to win and recognizing that it’s bad if someone gets hurt is not that blurry.

Drake did that, and it should serve as a lesson to everyone.

After being absolutely distraught over Durant’s injury, he went right back to cheering for his team like the loud rambunctious fan we’ve seen him be this entire series.

https://twitter.com/ComplexSports/status/1138268362264535041

However when the buzzer sounded, even though his team had lost, Drake tabled the passion and further emphasized that the game is exactly that — just a game.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Byj2yoIlSF2/

Look at that, two things can be true at once.

Raptors fans aren’t the only fanbase to have sullied goodwill accrued by doing something foolish like cheering on an injury to a player. It’s just another lesson that we as fans need to be better.

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