While most NBA fans laughed off the latest scandal of Kevin Durant posting from burner accounts on social media, FS1’s Danny Parkins believes the story is actually shockingly normal for people of a certain age.
During the NBA All-Star break, fans on X unearthed direct messages from an anonymous account they alleged was run by Durant, with vulgar, over-the-top criticism of his former and current teammates. While the Houston Rockets successfully avoided addressing the story for the rest of the season, recent reports suggest the team believed the messages were indeed sent by Durant, and that the situation harmed team chemistry.
A similar story cropped up a decade ago, when Durant accidentally posted a message on his personal X account that was supposed to come from another.
Discussing the latest chapter in an appearance on The Colin Cowherd Podcast this week, Parkins argued that while Durant clearly has his priorities confused, the situation is typical of people who grew up around social media and smartphones.
“He is very Millennial. And I say that with, just, the amount of judgment that I can say as a Millennial,” Parkins said. “KD, he’s very online. I bet you his screen time is eight, nine, 10 hours on his device.
“And so when you do that and you give all these people, not just people like (Cowherd) or people like me, who at least try to have some sort of consistency with our opinions and watch the games and talk to people, whatever, but also literally like “NetsFan42,” when you give all those people access to your pocket and your brain and your consciousness, not everyone can separate it. And I think KD clearly has, he wants to be able to have a voice in front of a microphone and in a boardroom, but he also wants to have a voice with “NetsFan42,” and it’s like, buddy you’re Kevin Durant. You have to be above it.”
Durant’s urge to talk trash about his teammates and defend himself to strangers online goes further than even many young people are willing to, but isn’t exactly out of the ordinary. Many form friendships and interact with their hobbies exclusively online. While we might like to believe that famous athletes could separate those uses of the internet from their careers, Durant’s actions seem to indicate that is easier said than done.
“The fact that it appears that he was the guy talking trash on all of his teammates is so embarrassing,” Parkins said. “But I think it is only the type of thing that could happen to a Millennial, Gen Z-era person who is looking for currency in validation online. But it’s so embarrassing for a person of his stature.”
As technology forces many to question their identity outside the virtual world, Parkins’ argument begs the question of whether Durant’s posting habits can be seen as part of that struggle rather than a ridiculous aberration.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.