OKLAHOMA CITY — Thunder television play-by-play man Brian Davis has been suspended for Game 1 of the playoff series against Utah on Sunday for a comment he made about star Russell Westbrook during Oklahoma City’s regular-season finale against Memphis.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Thunder television play-by-play man Brian Davis has been suspended for Game 1 of the playoff series against Utah on Sunday for a comment he made about star Russell Westbrook during Oklahoma City’s regular-season finale against Memphis.
Davis said Westbrook was “out of his cotton-pickin’ mind.” The comment came after the Oklahoma City guard made an assist in Wednesday’s game on his way to setting an NBA record for averaging a triple-double in multiple seasons.
Cotton picking was the primary responsibility for black slaves in the South, so the term can be offensive when used by a white person to describe a black person. Many took to social media to complain about Davis’ choice of words. Davis is white and Westbrook is black.
The Thunder say the comment was inappropriate and Davis has apologized.
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