Russell Westbrook’s wife shares death-threat email she ties to rise in sports betting
Nina Westbrook publicly posted a screenshot of an email she said she received that wished for her and russell westbrook to "die in a car crash" after his five-point outing during a blowout loss. The post, shared the day after the game, framed the message as part of a wider uptick in vitriol connected to growing sports betting activity and raised concerns about threats directed at athletes and their families.
Development details: Russell Westbrook
The message arrived following a Thursday night contest that resumed league play after the All-Star break, when Russell Westbrook played 17 minutes and was credited with five points, one assist and three turnovers in a 131-94 loss to the Orlando Magic. The email’s subject line used profanity and the body included a direct death wish; the message also criticized his scoring, saying he "can’t even get 10 points. " Nina Westbrook posted the screenshot to her Instagram Stories on Friday and characterized the note as part of a pattern of abusive communications she and her husband have received after games.
An attempt to reach the sender at the address shown in the screenshot went unanswered. Requests for comment sent to both the Sacramento Kings and the NBA also did not elicit responses.
Context and escalation
Nina Westbrook connected the hostility to the expansion of sports betting, writing that gambling has "brought out the worst in people" and that postgame threats have become routine. She invoked her professional background as a licensed marriage and family therapist while explaining why she chose to share the exchange publicly, saying she was increasingly concerned for athletes’ safety and mental health.
The team’s troubles this season have coincided with heightened fan frustration: Sacramento sits in last place in the Western Conference with a 12-45 record, and the roster recently lost another contributor when a teammate’s season-ending surgery was announced. Separately, the wider landscape shows measurable consequences of betting-related abuse: an NCAA survey of Division I men’s basketball players found that 36 percent reported experiencing online abuse linked to sports betting in 2025, based on responses from 6, 800 student-athletes across 163 schools.
What makes this notable is the convergence of a losing stretch, public-facing athlete profiles and an industry expansion that appears to correlate with more direct, personal harassment of players and their families.
Immediate impact
The immediate effect has been twofold: Nina Westbrook received an outpouring of support after sharing the email, and the family has reiterated ongoing concerns about safety and psychological harm. She said such messages are not isolated incidents but part of a pattern the couple has come to expect after games. For russell westbrook, the individual performance cited in the message—five points in 17 minutes—became the focal point for an extreme and threatening reaction from a fan.
Players around the league have publicly described similar experiences, ranging from racist attacks to direct threats and wishes for injury, and many have grown reluctant to report every abusive message to the league because of the volume of incidents. The Kings’ poor record and recent roster setbacks add to the charged environment in which such messages proliferate.
Forward outlook
Nina Westbrook’s public disclosure sets a near-term timeline of heightened attention: the email was posted the day after the Thursday game and followed by a longer note thanking supporters and explaining the pattern of abuse. There are no announced investigations or formal league actions disclosed in connection with this specific email. The broader signals to watch are established—continuing league play after the All-Star break, the ongoing season for the Kings, and public debate around betting’s impact on player safety and mental health. Last month, russell westbrook reached a career milestone that further increased his profile; the family’s decision to highlight this incident keeps the spotlight on the interaction between fan behavior and expanded wagering opportunities.
