The Westbrook family has had enough of Skip Bayless.
On Wednesday night, the commentator referred to Russell Westbrook as “Westbrick.” The Los Angeles Lakers point guard responded, telling Bayless to “watch your mouth” and “don’t say anything here you wouldn’t say to my face.”
His wife, Nina Westbrook, also expressed displeasure over Bayless’ name-calling. She replied to the Twitter post Thursday, a day where sports-related insults felt especially small to her following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
“It’s very disheartening that you would choose to continue to shame my family name. Today was a really sad day [for] my daughters and me. The fact that you can’t respect a simple request not to try to tarnish my family name is saddening and such a pile on. It’s extremely hurtful.”
Most Twitter users appeared to think the Westbrooks were overreacting to Bayless’ usual shtick.
Bayless likes to instigate, so the best course of action might be to ignore his tactics. Rather than reflecting on how his actions affect others, he’s probably relishing the attention and preparing another segment for Monday’s episode of Undisputed.
Of course, blocking out a troll is often easier said than done. Russell and Nina Westbrook are human beings with feelings.
Plenty of other analysis have found mature ways to criticize the guard’s subpar shooting. Regardless of what the Westbrooks say, Bayless is unlikely to join them.