Westbrook threatens female fan and her husband

[gpap]

If someone posted this, then I apologize for the redundant response however the Utah Jazz announced a ban of this fan from the Vivant Smart Arena.

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/12/utah-jazz-statement-fan-russell-westbrook-official-release

Personally, I couldn't be happier. Regardless of whatever he said to Westbrook, he just should've kept his comments to himself because you're basically asking for trouble if your heckling a fan.

[mmmmm]

25k fan for Westbrook. In other words, exactly what I felt was appropriate: fine for the player, ban for the jackass fan.

I don't think it's appropriate.  Kobe got $100k for a gay slur.  I thought that was appropriate to send a message that anti-gay slurs weren't appropriate.

What message is sent when a star threatens to beat up a female fan and gets a slap on the wrist?

The message it sends is “don’t come to a game to be racist jackasses to athletes with your wife and then feign ignorance and play the victim when said athlete responds.”

If you’re asking which side I’m more interested in dissuading, the racist hecklers or the athlete threatening them in response, I’m picking the former every day and twice on Sunday. As I would in [dang] near every incident involving a provocateur and the provoked.

By all means, if somebody disrespects you threaten to beat up the nearest woman. 

But, in the world of social justice I guess abusive speech toward a person of color is worse than threatening violence against women?  I get confused by the hierarchy.

Watching the video again, I don't really see how that could really be accepted as a credible threat to do violence.  RW's body language seems completely non-threatening as he finishes a water bottle and seems more concerned about where to drop it than anything else.   It looks and sounds like just gum flapping on his part.   Folks can surely disagree but I think the NBA's view (probably filtered through the eyes of their attorneys) is that all they have on Westbrook is some cussing.   So they've fined him for using the foul language and that's the end of that.

[Silky]

Until any sort of proof surfaces, should not the fans ve treated as innocent?

I mean I guess you have the word of Patterson, who could be argued, is going to stand with his teammate no matter what.

Apparently other in the fans' vicinity claim that he did not hurl any sort of racist remark.

Except for the whole statement the Jazz released referencing an investigation including video review & eyewitness accounts. 

There was something there.  They're not just banning the guy on a whim.

In this day an age though, that is going to be the course that Utah takes.

They have nothing to lose in banning the guy, but a HUGE amount to lose for investigating and potentially proving otherwise. It appears that it has as much to do with PR than anything else.

I dont know what was said, so I dont know. Its entirely plausible that the fan is telling the truth, and that a guy , with a history of overreacting and being confrontational was being just that.

Nothing in the presses yet, nothing been released on social media showing the fan acted as westbrook stated.

Ideally this will push the league to implement little glass boxes around the players on the sidelines so that they can sit in there away from fans.

[Roy H.]

25k fan for Westbrook. In other words, exactly what I felt was appropriate: fine for the player, ban for the jackass fan.

I don't think it's appropriate.  Kobe got $100k for a gay slur.  I thought that was appropriate to send a message that anti-gay slurs weren't appropriate.

What message is sent when a star threatens to beat up a female fan and gets a slap on the wrist?

The message it sends is “don’t come to a game to be racist jackasses to athletes with your wife and then feign ignorance and play the victim when said athlete responds.”

If you’re asking which side I’m more interested in dissuading, the racist hecklers or the athlete threatening them in response, I’m picking the former every day and twice on Sunday. As I would in [dang] near every incident involving a provocateur and the provoked.

By all means, if somebody disrespects you threaten to beat up the nearest woman. 

But, in the world of social justice I guess abusive speech toward a person of color is worse than threatening violence against women?  I get confused by the hierarchy.

Watching the video again, I don't really see how that could really be accepted as a credible threat to do violence.  RW's body language seems completely non-threatening as he finishes a water bottle and seems more concerned about where to drop it than anything else.   It looks and sounds like just gum flapping on his part.   Folks can surely disagree but I think the NBA's view (probably filtered through the eyes of their attorneys) is that all they have on Westbrook is some cussing.   So they've fined him for using the foul language and that's the end of that.

No, there was more than cussing. There was a threat to do harm.

I mean, if Mike Pence was caught on a hot mic saying the same thing about a heckler in the crowd, are you defending him the same way? The only difference is that Pence doesn’t have a history of going after fans.

[nickagneta]

I am very surprised by the reactions that Westbrook didn't deserve further punishment simply because he was heckled and had some racial stuff said to him. Both parties were at fault. First the guy and his wife for being racist asses and then proving it with their comments at Westbrook and RW for threatening violence on them in reaction.

$25,000 for Westbrook is about a $10-20 fine for the rest of us. It's not even a punishment. It's less than a slap on the wrist. It's basically saying to the players that it's okay to threaten violence on fans that say bad stuff to you, we will barely fine you for it.

[Silky]

If someone posted this, then I apologize for the redundant response however the Utah Jazz announced a ban of this fan from the Vivant Smart Arena.

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/12/utah-jazz-statement-fan-russell-westbrook-official-release

Personally, I couldn't be happier. Regardless of whatever he said to Westbrook, he just should've kept his comments to himself because you're basically asking for trouble if your heckling a fan.

Heckling is part of the fun of being a fan.

If it was racial then great, right course of action taken.


but if it wasnt racial it sets a BAD precident. where is the line drawn. Can you yell and boo? can you  wave pool noodles while underneath the basket during free throws? can you cheer for airballs? heckling and booing and trash talking players is part of the game and commonplace.

[Silky]

. First the guy and his wife for being racist asses and then proving it with their comments at Westbrook

apparently, but not proven.

If it was a criminal offense to state racist remarks the information that has so far been given would never turn a conviction.

Even in a JAzz's press release they claim the attacks were personal and disrespectful....no mention of them being racist.

[RJ87]

If someone posted this, then I apologize for the redundant response however the Utah Jazz announced a ban of this fan from the Vivant Smart Arena.

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/12/utah-jazz-statement-fan-russell-westbrook-official-release

Personally, I couldn't be happier. Regardless of whatever he said to Westbrook, he just should've kept his comments to himself because you're basically asking for trouble if your heckling a fan.

Heckling is part of the fun of being a fan.

If it was racial then great, right course of action taken.


but if it wasnt racial it sets a BAD precident. where is the line drawn. Can you yell and boo? can you  wave pool noodles while underneath the basket during free throws? can you cheer for airballs? heckling and booing and trash talking players is part of the game and commonplace.

I'm also assuming the fan's social media history also factored in (again, I'm assuming) as there's been some racial posts from said that have come to light since the game.

[CelticsElite]

Can someone post a link that proves that #MAGA was faked. I went looking on Google and found nothing.

Is it also fake news that he had a bunch of other bad posts he made about Westbrook but has been on a deleting binge since the incident? I am seeing everywhere that he deleting a ton of stuff off his Twitter account.

isn't the burden of proof on people who claim it's real? No one can find it on twitter. It seems odd for a racist to target westbrook and to watch basketball where 80% of players are black. Screenshots are easily faked. Where's the archive link to the tweet? I
If Someone came across such a tweet, it would be illogical not to archive it

[Endless Paradise]

If someone posted this, then I apologize for the redundant response however the Utah Jazz announced a ban of this fan from the Vivant Smart Arena.

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/12/utah-jazz-statement-fan-russell-westbrook-official-release

Personally, I couldn't be happier. Regardless of whatever he said to Westbrook, he just should've kept his comments to himself because you're basically asking for trouble if your heckling a fan.

Heckling is part of the fun of being a fan.

If it was racial then great, right course of action taken.


but if it wasnt racial it sets a BAD precident. where is the line drawn. Can you yell and boo? can you  wave pool noodles while underneath the basket during free throws? can you cheer for airballs? heckling and booing and trash talking players is part of the game and commonplace.

Players from both the Thunder *and the Jazz* have come out in support of Russ and stating that they believe his story of events.
There's an UNQUESTIONABLY racist tweet the fan randomly sent in October telling Westbrook to "go back to where he came from"... that being L.A. Oh, and don't forget the dogwhistle #MAGA hashtag at the end.
There's another tweet where the guy makes it clear beyond doubt that he doesn't like Westbrook.
Utah's banned the guy for life.

I'm not sure why there's still a disbelief that he was being racist. Is it that hard to believe the guy who's demonstrated he holds racist and antagonistic beliefs and views towards an athlete would say something racist to that same athlete? He wasn't banned merely for heckling. It's pretty clear the line is "don't be racist, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted and you're all set."

[Endless Paradise]

Can someone post a link that proves that #MAGA was faked. I went looking on Google and found nothing.

Is it also fake news that he had a bunch of other bad posts he made about Westbrook but has been on a deleting binge since the incident? I am seeing everywhere that he deleting a ton of stuff off his Twitter account.

isn't the burden of proof on people who claim it's real? No one can find it on twitter. It seems odd for a racist to target westbrook and to watch basketball where 80% of players are black. Screenshots are easily faked. Where's the archive link to the tweet? I
If Someone came across such a tweet, it would be illogical not to archive it

He deleted the tweet and made his account private.

It was originally believed the tweet was faked, but it appears to have been real:

https://twitter.com/JonMHamm/status/1105565677723758592

[CelticsElite]

Can someone post a link that proves that #MAGA was faked. I went looking on Google and found nothing.

Is it also fake news that he had a bunch of other bad posts he made about Westbrook but has been on a deleting binge since the incident? I am seeing everywhere that he deleting a ton of stuff off his Twitter account.

isn't the burden of proof on people who claim it's real? No one can find it on twitter. It seems odd for a racist to target westbrook and to watch basketball where 80% of players are black. Screenshots are easily faked. Where's the archive link to the tweet? I
If Someone came across such a tweet, it would be illogical not to archive it

He deleted the tweet and made his account private.

It was originally believed the tweet was faked, but it appears to have been real:

https://twitter.com/JonMHamm/status/1105565677723758592

without an archive link of the tweet, that's as good as nothing. I have no credibility in anyone except my own eyeballs


Also, I still don't interpret the tweet as racist

"going back to where you came  from" has zero to do with race no matter who it is directed at on the planet

[Silky]

If someone posted this, then I apologize for the redundant response however the Utah Jazz announced a ban of this fan from the Vivant Smart Arena.

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/12/utah-jazz-statement-fan-russell-westbrook-official-release

Personally, I couldn't be happier. Regardless of whatever he said to Westbrook, he just should've kept his comments to himself because you're basically asking for trouble if your heckling a fan.

Heckling is part of the fun of being a fan.

If it was racial then great, right course of action taken.


but if it wasnt racial it sets a BAD precident. where is the line drawn. Can you yell and boo? can you  wave pool noodles while underneath the basket during free throws? can you cheer for airballs? heckling and booing and trash talking players is part of the game and commonplace.

Players from both the Thunder *and the Jazz* have come out in support of Russ and stating that they believe his story of events.
There's an UNQUESTIONABLY racist tweet the fan randomly sent in October telling Westbrook to "go back to where he came from"... that being L.A. Oh, and don't forget the dogwhistle #MAGA hashtag at the end.
There's another tweet where the guy makes it clear beyond doubt that he doesn't like Westbrook.
Utah's banned the guy for life.

I'm not sure why there's still a disbelief that he was being racist. Is it that hard to believe the guy who's demonstrated he holds racist and antagonistic beliefs and views towards an athlete would say something racist to that same athlete? He wasn't banned merely for heckling. It's pretty clear the line is "don't be racist, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted and you're all set."

Apparently the tweet was fake.

And players should stick up for one another.

Again just playing devils advocate, but there is not real proof as of right now.

[Endless Paradise]

"going back to where you came  from" has zero to do with race no matter who it is directed at on the planet

lol

Sure

A white man directing "go back to where you came from" towards a black man born in America and capping it with "Make America Great Again" isn't racist. lol, the mental gymnastics in this one

[RJ87]

If someone posted this, then I apologize for the redundant response however the Utah Jazz announced a ban of this fan from the Vivant Smart Arena.

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/12/utah-jazz-statement-fan-russell-westbrook-official-release

Personally, I couldn't be happier. Regardless of whatever he said to Westbrook, he just should've kept his comments to himself because you're basically asking for trouble if your heckling a fan.

Heckling is part of the fun of being a fan.

If it was racial then great, right course of action taken.


but if it wasnt racial it sets a BAD precident. where is the line drawn. Can you yell and boo? can you  wave pool noodles while underneath the basket during free throws? can you cheer for airballs? heckling and booing and trash talking players is part of the game and commonplace.

Players from both the Thunder *and the Jazz* have come out in support of Russ and stating that they believe his story of events.
There's an UNQUESTIONABLY racist tweet the fan randomly sent in October telling Westbrook to "go back to where he came from"... that being L.A. Oh, and don't forget the dogwhistle #MAGA hashtag at the end.
There's another tweet where the guy makes it clear beyond doubt that he doesn't like Westbrook.
Utah's banned the guy for life.

I'm not sure why there's still a disbelief that he was being racist. Is it that hard to believe the guy who's demonstrated he holds racist and antagonistic beliefs and views towards an athlete would say something racist to that same athlete? He wasn't banned merely for heckling. It's pretty clear the line is "don't be racist, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted and you're all set."

Apparently the tweet was fake.

And players should stick up for one another.

Again just playing devils advocate, but there is not real proof as of right now.

The Utah Jazz gathered proof of Russell's version of events. That's been stated multiple times already.