Speaking As Someone Who Criticized Kevin Durant's Decision, This Recent Stephen A. Smith Rant Is Totally Off Base

Kevin Durant on the amount of blowouts this postseason: "If you don't like it, don't watch it." pic.twitter.com/WaqGEt93k5

— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 21, 2017

What has happened to Durant? I can't believe this is a question we are asking, but - in response to the conversation starter that 'First Take' used to lead into a eye roll-inducing rant about an NBA superstar's respect level towards fans - let me say this; Kevin Durant has stopped giving a fuck and I have a tough time blaming him for it.

I - like many, many others - instantly called KD's departure to the team that had just recently beat him in soul shattering fashion a soft move that showed a lack of competitive spirit. If only for that reason, I can't sit here now and say that KD should give a crap what I - or anyone else for that matter - thinks about his team's dominance. I don't care that he's making millions of dollars as a basketball player, because there's no dollar amount that would, could, or should make a person any less "dismissive" towards those that basically called them a pussy in public. 

We are talking about a guy that had the entirety of his character torn to shreds following a career choice that he had every right to make. That's not to say that it wasn't an easily criticizable career choice. However, those fans that he's being "disrespectful" towards are the same ones that called him a coward, or - in Stephen A. Smith's own words - "weak" for the entirety of an offseason. I was one of those fans, and as such I would expect the reasonably spiteful professional athlete to stick his proverbial middle finger up in my face after flawlessly cruising to the NBA Finals. 

In fact, I actually appreciate that Kevin Durant is finally doubling down on what was undoubtedly a villainous choice. I know Stephen A. Smith added an unnecessary amount of hot sauce to his critique because that's what he's paid handsomely to do, but when did we stop praising people for speaking words that parallel their actions? When the unstoppable force chose to join the immovable object instead of potentially meeting it in the Western Conference Finals he proved he didn't care bout parity in the NBA. He's finally saying that now too, and for that I begrudgingly applaud him.