One of the top sports items of the past week was NBA free agent Kevin Durant announcing his decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
It certainly was a startling announcement. Durant and his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, were knocked out of the NBA playoffs in the Western Conference finals by the Warriors, despite the Thunder once holding a 3-1 series lead.
Several people were upset by Durant's decision, especially Thunder fans. Who can blame them? Their chances of winning the 2017 NBA title became slimmer as a result of the news (the Thunder's odds of winning the title went from 7-1 to 30-1). And then there was ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, who said Durant's signing was "the weakest move I've ever seen from a superstar."
The news didn't have much of an effect on me. But then I checked social media and came across a video that made me want to roll my eyes so far back, I'd be looking directly behind me.
SportsCenter posted a video last Monday on Instagram, a compilation video of Thunder fans burning Durant jerseys and shirts in protest of his decision to sign with the Warriors. One fan set fire to his jersey in a fire pit soaked in gasoline, another burned it on his driveway. One fan even said, "You're trash now," and preceded to throw a Durant jersey in the trash can. Clever.
Really? Is that what sports are coming to these days? Even though players have the option to become free agents once their contracts expire, some fans - such as the ones in the video - consider it an act of betrayal if a star player leaves their team.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this. It's not like this is the first time jersey burning has gone mainstream.
The art of burning a player's jersey hit its peak in the summer of 2010, when LeBron James held an ESPN special titled "The Decision" and announced he was leaving Cleveland and signing with the Miami Heat. Videos of fans burning LeBron memorabilia - especially his Cavaliers jersey - went viral on social media following his departure.
Needless to say, Cavaliers fans felt betrayed. It didn't help when LeBron won two NBA titles in his first three seasons with the Heat.
But burning a jersey you own in protest? That isn't being a fan. That's being obsessed.
Durant's decision made some fans angry, and I guess burning a jersey was their way of taking out their frustrations. But in the grand scheme of things, they shouldn't be angry with Durant. They should be angry with the free agency process.
Before free agency allowed players to change teams once their contracts expired, there was something called the reserve clause, which essentially gave teams the ability to keep players for their entire careers.
The reserve clause stated once a player's contract expired, the rights of the player still belonged to the team. This meant the player was not free to sign with another team, unless his team gave him his unconditional release.
In 1975, this all changed when arbitrators struck down the reserve clause in Major League Baseball, opening the door for free agency. Other major league sports followed suit, and this led to the boom of player contracts, such as the 2-year, $54-million deal Durant signed Thursday.
Fans may not be happy now, but free agency is a good thing. Can you imagine working in a business where you weren't allowed to leave your job for a better opportunity, unless you were released, or essentially fired?
If there was a reserve clause in the newspaper industry, I would still be the sports editor with The Fayette Advertiser instead of sitting here and writing this column. And when I left Fayette two months ago to come to the Jefferson City News Tribune, I doubt subscribers in Fayette burned newspapers in protest.
So do me a favor. The next time your team's star player decides to leave for another team during free agency, don't burn a jersey in protest. Just stuff it in the back of your closet.
If LeBron taught us anything, you might end up wearing the jersey again someday.