Should Subscriber Norm Have Been Kicked out of Vince Carter's Jersey Retirement?

As the political haze fades, we return to the topic of NBA ennui. Self aware rabble rouser Subscriber Norm has a tale of being kicked out of Vince Carter Jersey Retirement Night at Scotiabank Arena.

TLDR: I got kicked out of the Raptors game for saying "always a quitter" to Vince Carter. Hey Ethan long time listener first time writer haha. Have always been a huge Raptors fan one of my life highlights was them beating your Warriors and winning the title. My least favorite athlete ever since I was 10 has been Vince Carter. He demanded a trade, he whined, and he didn't try. He even tipped off the other team about a play we were running. Bill Simmons even wrote a funny column about it and blasted him after he had his "resurgence" with the Nets. I hated and booed him for years, along with most of the Raptors fanbase. Anyway at some point he kept playing for a long time and became beloved around the league. This year the owners decided to retire his number which I thought was bullshit. He never apologized and said that he forgave the fans for booing him! Anyway tonight I got pretty good seats for his retirement game from my Dad who was out of town and went with my brother. I booed a bit and heckled during the ceremony where he was mostly (but not universally) cheered and nothing came of it. I went to the washroom down in the club by the court. And as I was walking back Vince is about to walk directly by me. I loudly say as he walked by, "always a quitter!" He wheeled back and goes, "what did you just say to me?" I repeated myself. Vince yelled at security, "get this guy out of here." Security threw me out after hearing my account and said to me, "how could you say that to him on the most important night of his life?" You can say I'm an asshole I guess but my take is that I am a lifelong fan expressing his opinion of Vince as a basketball player, and not using profanity or making things personal. I think this gets a bit to what you and Ryan were talking about on your last podcast about how these players act like obligarchs. To me the team's response to my comment tonight was another signal that the Raptors really don't give a crap about the fans. Which is their decision. But for me I've already had declining satisfaction with the product agreeing with your criticisms and this to me hammers home that this is a team and league where the fans will always come last.

While I personally wouldn’t have tried to anger Vince Carter on his big night, I understand being annoyed by how his time in Toronto has been retconned into a sunnier experience than it actually was. Had the Raptors and Carter had more success apart, I doubt both sides would have reconciled later on in such a maudlin manner. But they did, at least publicly, and I’m sure a lot of fans appreciate that it happened.

But that’s not really the topic, now is it? This is more in line with Ryan Glasspiegel observations about how NBA players, currently paid like oil sheikhs, can operate with an almost imperious approach towards the fans. There’s not much pressure on the NBA or the players to address the issue, given that lucrative TV rights deal that’s just been signed. At the same time, the rift between fan and player seems central to the modern NBA condition, and that condition, beyond the money, doesn’t seem optimal.