NBA Rumors: Fan Who Yelled Racist Slur At DeMarcus Cousins In Boston Got Two-Year Ban, Per Chris Haynes
In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins recalled being subjected to racial abuse in certain cities, where fans would yell the “n-word” at him. While Cousins did not provide any specifics on the cities where he allegedly received such treatment from fans, Haynes provided an update backing up the big man’s comments, confirming that such an incident took place at the TD Garden in Boston earlier this year.
As quoted by NBC Sports Bay Area, Haynes said on Thursday’s edition of The Spin that per league sources the incident in question happened on January 26, as the Boston Celtics hosted the Warriors.
“During that game, there was a fan that muttered the n-word at DeMarcus Cousins. And I was told DeMarcus informed one of the team security guys, and they got a hold of the security team at TD Garden, they took care of the fan. And I was told, ultimately, that that fan was banned for the rest of this season and next year. So, he received a two-year ban.”
Haynes further related that DeMarcus Cousins and the Warriors were only “recently” informed of the actions taken against the Celtics fan. Neither Cousins nor the Warriors have issued any comment on the matter as of this writing.
NBC Sports Bay Area explained that Haynes’ recollection of the TD Garden incident was noteworthy, given that it came shortly after Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook had an altercation with a fan in Utah during a game against the Jazz. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the fan, who was identified as Shane Keisel, allegedly yelled racially insensitive comments at Westbrook, who responded by swearing at the man and his wife for their disrespectful behavior. As a result, Keisel received a lifetime ban from the Jazz’s home games, while Westbrook received a fine from the NBA for his role in the incident.
Report: Celtics fan gets two-year ban for muttering racial slur at DeMarcus Cousins https://t.co/tu5nbPn8kE pic.twitter.com/SRwfYico9M
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) March 29, 2019
Per Bleacher Report, another Utah Jazz fan also received a lifetime ban from the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City for purportedly using racist language against Westbrook. The incident in question took place during Game 4 of the first round of last year’s Western Conference playoffs, as a fan allegedly called Westbrook “boy,” an archaic racial slur used against African-Americans.
At the present, DeMarcus Cousins is playing a key role for the Warriors, who currently lead the Western Conference with a 51-23 win-loss record, despite a substantial reduction in his playing time compared to his past stints with the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans. Per Basketball-Reference, Cousins has averaged 15.9 points, eight rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 24 games for the Warriors since returning from an Achilles tendon injury earlier this year.
