The Memphis Grizzlies shocked everyone by taking down the Golden State Warriors in their play-in game. Now they’re facing the Utah Jazz. Yet it turns out they’re actually facing two opponents.
The Jazz and racist Jazz fans.
In Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, Jazz fans spewed racist comments at the parents of Grizzlies’ star, Ja Morant. The fans were banned indefinitely by the Jazz after Utah’s 141-129 victory, but the damage was done.
“I know heckling,” said Ja’s father, Tee Morant, to ESPN. “We were doing that the whole game. But that’s different than heckling. That’s straight-up disrespectful. That was too far out of line. You don’t say nothing like that heckling. That’s beyond heckling.”
Ja rightfully came to his family’s defense.
“My family should be able cheer for me & my teammates without getting inappropriate s**t said to them.” tweeted Ja.
Ja also came to the defense of the Jazz’s fanbase.
“My family told me they felt the love from all the other jazz fans who were around them,” tweeted Morant. “even bought each other drinks with a few. Those 3 just went too far.”
According to Tee Morant, he confronted one fan who made a sexually explicit comment to his wife, Jamie. A second fan told him “I’ll put a nickel in your back and watch you dance, boy.”
The third offender told Jamie “Shut the f**k up, bi**h!”
All three were pointed out by other fans and removed by arena security.
The Jazz were disgusted and issued a statement in response.
“The Utah Jazz have zero tolerance for offensive or disruptive behavior. An incident occurred last night involving a verbal altercation during Game 2. Arena security staff intervened, and the investigation resulted in the removal and banning of three Jazz fans indefinitely. We apologize to all who were impacted by this unfortunate incident and condemn unacceptable fan behavior. The Utah Jazz are committed to ensuring a safe and respectful environment.”
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell took to Twitter to express his disgust.
“I’m glad those fans were banned and they should never be allowed back,” tweeted Mitchell. “The fact that these words are being thrown around to player and their families is ridiculous. Enough is enough. SMH!”
Turns out the Morant family wasn’t the sole victim. In an interview with Jason and John of ESPN Radio, Tee Morant said fans also targeted the family of Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks, calling them “half-breeds”.
Jazz President Ryan Smith issued an apology to the Grizzlies and the Morant family on Twitter.
“Memphis Grizzlies and Morant family… we are embarrassed and sorry. The Utah Jazz have zero tolerance for offensive behavior. We are committed to creating a respectful, competitive environment.”
New team owner Dwyane Wade also tweeted his apologies to the Morant family.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time fans crossed the line. Or crossed them in Utah, for that matter.
In March of 2019, Russell Westbrook was the target of fan venom. According to Westbrook, a fan heckled him and allegedly yelled he should “get down on your knees like you used to.” Westbrook felt it was racist and in the aftermath, the fan was banned from the arena by the team.
The fan, Shane Keisel, filed a $100 million lawsuit against Westbrook and the Jazz for defamation and emotional distress. On Friday, a judge dismissed the suit.
Protecting families of the players is always a concern.
Back in January of 2006, Knicks forward Antonio Davis ran into the stands in Chicago to confront a fan he claimed was harassing his wife.
“I witnessed my wife being threatened by a man that I learned later to be intoxicated,” said Davis in a statement after that game. “I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn’t react. There was no
time to call security. It happened too quickly.”
Can you blame him? Who wouldn’t rush to their spouse’s defense, professional athlete or not?
Now, some might say the incidents in Utah are committed by a minute minority of Jazz fans. That’s true, but the situation presents a new problem for the Grizzlies and the NBA, and now both are forced to take extra precautions.
Security will increase and be less tolerant of fan heckling, which is good. But what happens if players like Ja and Dillon become distracted by the well-being of their families in the stands? Will security be able to handle incidents that flare up? Will players channel their inner-Antonio Davis before security reacts?
Hopefully added security addresses these incidents, for the last thing we need to see is another “Malice at the Palace”.
But if it concerns the safety of family, the stands it is.
