NBA Finals 2012: NBA Fans Burning Kevin Durant's Jersey Is Outrageous

After Oklahoma City's 104-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday, BlackSportsOnline posted a photo of a fan burning a Kevin Durant jersey.

UPDATE: 11 a.m. ET

Rewind. Apparently, the guy burning the Kevin Durant jersey isn't a Thunder fan after all. 

The man who goes by the name Tee White (or so his Twitter handle says) is allegedly Team Heat: 

"

He called me a fake okc fan. Lol. Everybody know I'm team heat

— Tee White (@twhitee) June 20, 2012"

Though this is certainly a win for Thunder fans, since they no longer have to affiliate themselves with this character, it still remains to be seen whether Tee is truly a Heat devotee. As his Twitter bio states, he's not all too concerned with keeping it real, so you probably have to take what he says with a grain of salt.  

Is he a Heat fan? Maybe. Probably not. Maybe he was just trying to make a scene and a statement. That being said, I don't know many Heat fans who have replica Kevin Durant jerseys lying round.

Now at least the wrongly accused OKC fans don't have to deal with the bandwagon-jumping accusations anymore. All is well again in ThunderLand. 

-End of update-

Being angry about the Thunder's loss in Game 4 of the NBA Finals is one thing. Burning a Kevin Durant jersey is another.

First of all, it's Game 4. The Heat may be up 3-1—and that may be a deficit no NBA team has ever recovered from in the finals—but this series isn't over yet. Yes, it's true that throughout the course of the last three games, the Thunder have looked incompetent at times and just outplayed at others, but that doesn't mean they're done. You can't say that about a team that has decimated veteran clubs like the Mavericks, Lakers and Spurs in succession. 

Kevin Durant, at 23 years old, certainly isn't done. He's been in the league for five years. Give him a break. Also, he's guarding the best player in the NBA. Seriously, give him a break.

And if you're going to burn his jersey when the series isn't even over, you better not come back when he actually wins a title (because it will happen) and claim you're a fan. In fact, one of the biggest reasons you don't do things like burn your team's jersey is so that when they do win, you can claim that you were behind them all along. This guy can now never do that. You can't escape from jersey-burning.

Second of all, the Thunder aren't underachieving against the Heat, so fans, back off. The Heat are the best team in the league. They have two of the NBA's best and most playoff-experienced players in their starting lineup, not to mention an inflated payroll. They were standing right here at the NBA Finals one year ago. They know the drill. If anyone is surprised to see them standing one win away from a championship, you're crazy. 

The Thunder don't have experience. They may be young and athletic, but this is their first trip to the finals, and they're not up against any slouch of a team. Anyone who thought Durant and the Thunder were going to steamroll the Heat in the finals needs a reality check.

Third of all, don't set jerseys on fire. Just don't.

There is perhaps nothing more disrespectful in the world of sports than jersey-burning. It's more than a slap in the face; it's just a no. Setting anything on fire is crossing the line. It was crossing the line when that Michigan recruit burned a letter from Ohio State. It was even crossing the line when jilted Cavaliers fans set LeBron James' Cleveland jersey on fire.

It's just one of those things you don't do—especially when there's still at least another game to play.