Russell Westbrook Wife Goes Off After ESPN Report Refers To Him As A ‘Vampire’

Russell Westbrook and his wife Nina at Paris Fashion Week

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Earlier this week, Russell Westbrook found himself traded for the third time in less than four years when his stint with the Lakers officially came to an end after he was traded to the Jazz ahead of the deadline.

Most basketball fans are likely very aware the guard’s time in Los Angeles left plenty to be desired thanks to his inability to mesh with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as the shooting issues that led to countless trolls referring to him as “Westbrick.”

Westbrook didn’t have a ton of people in his corner, but his wife Nina understandably felt the need to defend her husband’s honor on more than a few occasions (including the time she reached out to Kendrick Perkins’ wife after taking issue with a comment his former teammate made last year).

On Thursday, Nina pushed back against another ESPN personality after Dave McMenamin claimed a source with the Lakers had told him the trade that sent Westbrook to Utah had removed “a vampire from the locker room.”

It’s safe to say she was not thrilled about that characterization, as she hopped into the comments on Instagram to bemoan the latest in a long line of the personal attacks Russ (and, in turn, she and her family) have had to deal with:

“This is just sick ESPN…Russell is no vampire.

This is also slander because anyone who knows anything knows that this couldn’t be further from the truth. On a personal note, I have school-aged children who have to listen to their peers repeat the nasty things that you guys say on television about their father.

I guess I will prepare myself to explain to my 5-year-old that his dad is not actually a vampire, and that major news outlets only say things like that to get attention.”

It’s worth noting she wasn’t the only person who took issue with the report, as Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul called out McMenamin and ESPN for allowing the source to remain anonymous while Donovan Mitchell simply said “Stop it.”

NBA players respond to Russell Westbrook "vampire" report

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At least the Westbrooks can take some solace in knowing some of his fellow players have his back.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.