Union part owner Kevin Durant blasts fan criticizing the team in now-deleted tweets

Kevin Durant, part-owner of the Union who moonlights as a 14-time NBA All-Star, is known to pop onto X, formerly Twitter, every so often and speak his mind. On Monday, Durant took to the app to defend his club — from its own fans.

“The [Union] have been a major disappointment,” one fan wrote. “Ever since they got to the MLS final a couple seasons ago, they’ve done nothing to build upon that season, yet expect fans to be loyal. No surprise they fall short, their one owner [Kevin Durant] is well known for falling short.”

In a now-deleted reply, Durant responded.

“Real fans support through the tough times.”

The fan then called out Durant for leaving the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2016, and for requesting a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets in 2023. Durant, now with the Phoenix Suns, asked the fan, “how long are u gon cry about it?”

The fan called on Durant, who purchased a 5% stake in the Union in 2020, to improve the team. As a minority partner in the team, Durant is primarily responsible for “marketing opportunities, and expanding the Union’s community outreach in conjunction with the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation (KDCF),” according to the release announcing the purchase.

The only post of Durant’s that is still live is his final response: “Or what Ron?”

The Union sit eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, and would be part of the wild-card play-in game if the season ended today. But the club is on a four-game winless streak and a seven-game winless streak at home after blowing a late lead to nine-man Inter Miami without Lionel Messi on Saturday.

But the fans aren’t the only ones calling on ownership to improve the roster as the Union look to develop their prospects. Left-back Kai Wagner also called out Union ownership after the latest loss.

“I think we should see now that we have to invest in the team,” Wagner told a group of reporters. “We need players who can help us. We should not just believe [that] our young guys can come up and play, and everybody just says ‘OK, we have young guys coming up, they should help us’ — that’s not how it is. We talk all the time about it, not just in the locker room. I think everybody sees it: the fan base, we see it. I think if that’s not clear and honest, everybody should know [in] the front office that we should go out now and get new players.”