By Scott Tibbs, July 18, 2016
It is basically impossible for me to have any sympathy for the Oklahoma City Thunder now that they have lost Kevin Durant, and any chance of sympathy was lost in 2008. That is the year that franchise abandoned the city of Seattle and moved to Oklahoma City in the first place. One could say that Durant is leaving the Thunder the way the Thunder left Seattle, but the Thunder team still exists. That was not the case for the city of Seattle, which has been without an NBA team for eight years.
Now, I do not have any particular grudge against the Thunder for leaving Seattle. I just find the hypocrisy of Thunder fans to be extremely galling. They all need to remove a giant Redwood tree from their eyes before they can see clearly to remove a speck of dust from Durant's eye.
Come on now. How many people have left a job for a better one? How many people have left a job for more money, a better work environment, an easier commute, more opportunity for advancement, more responsibility or some combination of those factors? I know I have done it. I would bet that most of the people hating on Durant (including Thunder fans calling him a "traitor") have done it too.
The NBA is a business just like any other business, and employees change jobs all the time. That does not make them bad people, or disloyal employees. It means they are making the best decision for themselves, their family and their careers. Furthermore, we need to be brutally honest for a minute. If the Thunder (the ex-Supersonics) had the chance to make their team better by trading Durant, do you think they would hesitate to dump him? No, they would not. Yes, it's difficult to imagine how trading away Durant at this point would make the Thunder better, but we should not fool ourselves.
But ultimately, everyone needs to chill out. This is just a game. It is an escape and a means to have fun. People get way to wrapped up in this sort of thing and it is not worth that level of anger. Sports are not a god, though you would think they are from how offended people get at the slightest little thing.
