When Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder this off season, he showed us the completely wrong way to handle any kind of relationship.
In life, relationships come and go. Regardless if the relationship was business related, intimate, a friendship, or you are a teammate in sports, there is a right way to handle things and a wrong way. Kevin Durant did all of the wrong things when it came to Russell Westbrook.
The whole saga between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant is one of those rare times when we can look at sports, and see how it applies to our everyday lives. I can speak from experience having been put through a situation extremely similar to Westbrook over the past few months.
Durant and Westbrook had built a bond together over the past eight years. From playing the first game in history of the OKC franchise, to their first trip to the playoffs they had been through a lot. They took the franchise to the NBA finals and had come within a game of defeating Golden State Warriors last year.
Then all of a sudden, Durant decides to sign with the warriors after the season. Many people thought Durant would have talked with Westbrook either in person or over the phone and let him know before it went public.
Durant did not even send Westbrook a text.
Westbrook found out Durant's choice to leave like the rest of the world, through the media. Anybody who has been in any sort of relationship knows it will hurt when it is over, but there is a right way to end it and a wrong way.
Kevin Durant chose the worst way possible to do this.
Anybody who says that Westbrook needs to get over this has never been burnt in any manner similar to that. When you build a bond and a relationship with somebody and they just leave, it is the absolute worst feeling in the world.
After having somebody end a "relationship" with me not only by a text message, but also lying to me in the process, I know exactly how Russell Westbrook feels. The last time you saw that person face to face, you had the impression that everything was alright between you both. The next thing you know, it is all over, they have disappeared from your life, and they've showed you the ultimate disrespect.
It is one of the worst experiences that any individual can ever go through. In today's society, too many people want to avoid the tough situation and confrontation so they handle it over the phone or on social media.
Let me be clear, I do not blame anyone for leaving a situation if they are not happy but there is a right way to do things and a wrong way.
It is all just a matter of respect. To have somebody either tell you over the phone (text or call) or not at all, shows a total lack of respect for the other person.
Seeing how Kevin Durant handled this should be an example of how not to handle things when you want to end any relationship. In today's age of texting and social media people can't lose track of right and wrong. There are some things that need to be handled in person, and ending any partnership/relationship is one of them.
