The Utah Jazz acted hastily when presented with the opportunity to do something about the fan who directed racist remarks toward Russell Westbrook during the team’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this week. The fan in question was given a permanent ban for his comments, which led to Westbrook saying “I’ll f*ck you up.”
In the midst of this incident, another clip popped up of Westbrook and a different Jazz fan, who heckled the former league MVP before a game in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. The clip features the fan, a white man, calling Westbrook “boy,” to which Westbrook responds by asking him to not use that word when referring to him. When the fan does it again, Westbrook called over a security guard.
You can watch the clip here, via Eric Woodyard of the Desert News. Woodyard reported on Friday morning that the Jazz are taking this incident just as seriously as the one from this week, giving that fan a ban from attending the arena.
Via Desert News:
On Friday morning, a source informed the Deseret News that the Jazz have also banned a second fan for degrading and offensive conduct against Westbrook that took place during the 2018 postseason.
“The Jazz aren’t taking these matters lightly,” the source said.
Kudos to the Jazz for giving this the seriousness and attention this deserves and not taking any half-measures when it comes to stomping out racism from fans at their games. Beyond the bans, Woodyard reported that several people involved with the team met after the incident earlier this week.
