I Feel So Bad For Clint Capela, But Russell Westbrook Doesn’t
Clint Capela was dunked on last night and I feel so sorry for him.
Have you ever felt bad for an opposing player? I had no opinion on Clint Capela prior to last night’s game. He was a name I knew, but didn’t know anything about him or how good he was. He’s now the player I care most about in the league.
I feel so bad for Clint Capela this morning.
If I had Mr. Capela’s number, I would text him, “Shake It Off” accompanied by a GIF of Taylor Swift dancing because who can’t relate to that? If I had Mr. Capela’s address, I would send him at least $100 worth of flowers and a teddy bear hug-o-gram. If I knew anyone who knows Mr. Capela, I would tell them to just keep him an eye on him all day because I’m worried about what he might do after last night. The first 24 hours are always the toughest.
What Russell Westbrook did to Mr. Capela last night was criminal. If Westbrook fails to show up to his induction into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame tonight because he’s being booked for murder charges, would that surprise anyone? Michael Jordan might be standing at the podium tonight, wondering where the guest of honor is, and looking confused when he doesn’t show up. Get ready for the Dumbfounded Jordan meme.
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Westbrook committed basketball homicide on Mr. Capela. Unprovoked basketball homicide at that. The Thunder were up three with seven seconds left. Westbrook could have accepted the inbounds and taken the foul. He would have gone to the free throw line, split the free throws (because Russell Westbrook ALWAYS misses one free throw in the final minutes of a close game) and the Thunder would have led by four with just over five seconds remaining. As long as Serge Ibaka doesn’t foul the three point shooter, the Thunder escape with a one point victory at worse.
Instead, Westbrook accepted the inbounds, and decided that he didn’t like the look on Mr. Capela’s face, so he permanently changed it.
Westbrook felt no remorse for his actions. None. He got up with a scowl on his face, thumped his chest, and stomped. HE STOMPED! He buried Mr. Capela fix feet and three inches under the court and then stomped on the grave. It was the most unnecessary eight seconds in NBA history and at the same time the most beautiful.
I’ve never felt so bad for an opposing player. When Kevin Durant tortured rookies in the post, I never felt bad for them. When Serge Ibaka stuffed Tim Duncan at the rim on Duncan’s final play of his career, I didn’t feel bad for him. When Dion Waiters actually hit the step back that one time in that one game, I didn’t feel bad for that one guy. When Westbrook dunked on players before, I never felt bad for them. But how could a person with feelings not feel bad for Mr. Capela?
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If you don’t feel bad for Clint Capela this morning, I don’t know what to tell you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Thunder fan, a Rockets fan, a NBA fan, or just a person who googled “recent homicides” for some reason. If you watched that video, you should feel bad for Mr. Capela. The man did nothing wrong. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time in front of the wrong person. He stood in front of the one person who didn’t care about his feelings, his family, his past, or his future. He stood in front of the one person who woke up this morning, and didn’t feel bad for him.