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One of the Dallas Mavericks fans at the center of a row with Kevin Durant after they called him a ‘b****’ on Thursday night has explained the bizarre reason why they shouted abuse at the NBA star.

Luke Brawner was one of the two fans that went viral after Durant confronted them for calling him a b***h as he ran onto the court ahead of the Suns game in Dallas.

It was unclear what Durant said to them but Brawner’s friend held out her hand for the four-time NBA champion to shake as they appeared to immediately regret their actions.

Durant refused to do so but did later stop security from kicking the pair out of the American Airlines Center.

A Texas-based radio station managed to track down Brawner on Friday and he explained why they shouted at Durant. 

A Dallas Mavericks fan named Luke Brawner addressed the viral incident with Kevin Durant

Security were going to kick them out before Durant came back over and said they could stay

Mavs fan calls Kevin Durant “a b*tch” and KD pauses to have words.Security about to kick the fans out when KD comes back to tell them not to kick them out. pic.twitter.com/CTqPnM4T16

— Jonah Javad (@JonahJavad) February 23, 2024

‘I don’t want to justify anything that was said,’ Brawner said on ‘The Ben and Skin Show’ on 97.1-FM KEGL The Freak. ‘But I do want to provide some context.’

Brawner went on to reveal that he and the woman went to the game in honor of his best friend and the woman’s brother Nathan, who died a few years ago.

Brawner went on to explain that he ran a sports podcast that Nathan would often contribute to and every time someone mentioned Durant, Nathan would reply by saying ‘KD’s a little b****’.

It stemmed from him being upset when Durant joined the Golden State Warriors.

According to Brawner, Nathan would utter the line so much it became a catchphrase of his and the woman yelled it out as a tribute to her late brother.

‘It was just a joke to us, but we forget the humanity of the person on the other end of that joke,’ Brawner said. 

‘I’m used to seeing this person on highlight reels. I’m used to seeing this person’s face, and I can yell at the TV all day long, but you sort of forget when you remove the humanity from that person, that your words still really matter.’ 

Durant and the Phoenix Suns were beaten after a dominant performance by the Mavericks

Brawner also said that he attempted to reach out to Durant’s publicist to reiterate that there was ‘no ill-intent there’.

He was also thankful the 14-time All-Star stopped security from kicking them out of the game.

‘Ironically, I do think that the moment did honor my friend,’ Brawner said.

‘Wherever people go after you die, wherever he is out in the ether, he was laughing – hard – and loving it. 

‘We had an amazing night. It didn’t ruin our night in any way. But it was wild. I did not imagine so many folks would hear about it.’

In a separate Instagram post, Brawner said: ‘Beloved friends and acquaintances of the present and the past, rest ᴀssured: I’ve seen the video. No need to send it over.

‘Yes, that was me. No I didn’t say it. Yes, there was more to the story. And no, KD wasn’t whining. He handled it with class.’