A Raptors fan has created a GoFundMe page to help quell some of the criticism that has been directed at fans of the NBA team who cheered when the Warriors’ Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in Monday’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto.
“On behalf of the level-headed and true fans of Raptor Nation - from Toronto to Vancouver to Iqaluit to St. John’s, and any fans living outside Canada: we wanted to say ‘sorry,’” wrote the organizer, Hamzah Moin of Ontario, Canada.
“We’re sorry that some fans of Raptor Nation at the Scotiabank arena, Jurassic Park, and in some bars/restaurants showing the game, displayed an ugly side of fandom when they cheered on the injury of Kevin Durant.”
The page says the money raised will be given to the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation. Having set a goal of $25,000, more than $20,000 had been donated by 774 people by 7 p.m. Wednesday. The fund was started Tuesday.
Durant was playing for the first time in a month and was off to a great start — 11 points and a trio of 3-pointers — when he suffered the injury in the second quarter. He had to be helped to his feet and to the locker room by teammates and members of the medical staff. While sitting on the court, a number of Raptors fans could be seen and heard applauding and cheering, which infuriated Durant’s teammates and even had the Raptors’ players motioning to the crowd to stop.
The GoFundMe page goes on to say: “Yes, we’re hungry for a championship however true NBA fans would never cheer on a man getting injured or wave goodbye as they limp to the locker-room area.. KD is a player that brings up the game of basketball.”
The Raptors — who have never won an NBA title — take a 3-2 lead on the two-time defending-champion Warriors into Thursday’s Game 6 at Oracle Arena.
“I’d like to at least do my part in turning lemons into lemonade and showing the world how uncrappy we are,” the page creator writes in closing. “Join me in sending our well-wishes to KD as he recovers. He’s put his blood, sweat and tears in this beautiful sport. Let’s give back to something he’s passionate about - helping to enrich the lives of at-risk youth from low-income backgrounds through educational, athletic and social programs through the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.”
Michael Lerseth is a San Francisco Chronicle assistant sports editor. Email: mlerseth@sfchronicle.com Twitter @MikeLerseth
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
So a Canadian playing for a US team lifts Lord Stanley's Cup. Maybe an American playing for a Canadian team will hoist the NBA trophy. Ain't NAFTA great?
And BTW Hamzah Moin (the guy who set up the crowdfunding page for Durant's charity) is a Muslim name.
Basketball: zzzzzzzzzzz (except when my nephew is on the court). But congratulations to the Raptors, anyway.
Hockey: Congrats Blues, well-played (dammit). Since the Sox appear to be skipping the next championship season, I guess we will see y'all in Miami in February
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké