Disdain for Oklahoma City Thunder defector, Kevin Durant, is real among locals, who aside from no longer supporting their former franchise star, would like to erase any trace of his name ever since he left for Golden State. In fact, a few OKC fans recently started up a petition to have the name of a Bryan County town founded nearly 150 years ago, changed from Durant, Oklahoma to Westbrook, Oklahoma.
While KD began his career in Seattle, it was in Oklahoma City that he blossomed into one of the game's most elite players. He would go on to represent the team in 7 NBA All-Star Games, and take home league MVP honors in 2014, for his role in bringing the team to its fourth post season in as many years. In 2015, he'd be out most of the season with an injury, which allowed Russell Westbrook to show and prove that he could carry the team on his back. But 2016's hard fought battle during a Western Conference Championship series, in which they faced what at the time most considered a sure champion Golden State team, had the OKC legions hopeful that they might soon see the return to the NBA Finals on the back of a more mature Durant-Westbrook tandem. On July 4, those hopes were shot down when Durant signed a 2-year 54.3 million dollar contract with their rivals.
Fans slammed Durant on social media, burned his jersey on television, and left his jersey on the shelf even as a local store put their stock up for sale at .48 cents. The movement to have the town of Durant renamed was nearing its goal of 1,000 signatures at press time. “I believe the State of Oklahoma has a responsibility to change the name of the City of Durant to Westbrook, the man who is loyal, whom we believe in, and who will lead our team to glory,” the petition reads. “Yes, it is understood that the city Durant was not named after the evil Kevin Durant, but it is just another hideous reminder of what happened to our community.”
Source: complex.com
