Ja Morant's father: Banned Jazz fans made racist remarks to him during Game 2
Ja Morant's father says the three Utah Jazz fans banned indefinitely from games made vulgar and racist remarks toward him and his wife during Game 2 of their first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
A statement released by Utah cited one "verbal altercation" that occurred during Game 2 at Vivint Arena, but Tee Morant says there were three separate incidents with male Jazz fans.
"I know heckling," Tee Morant said. "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."
Tee Morant also says one fan made a sexually explicit remark to his wife, Jamie. He confronted the man before security deescalated the situation and ejected the fan.
Another fan told Tee Morant, "I'll put a nickel in your back and watch you dance, boy." A third fan yelled at Jamie Morant, "Shut the f--- up, b----."
In a Twitter post after the game, Ja Morant said he agreed with Utah's decision to ban the fans.
"[A]s they should," Morant wrote in a tweet in reaction to the above Stein tweet, "my family should be able cheer for me & my teammates without getting inappropriate s--- said to them."
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell showed support for Morant in his own Twitter post and called the fans' actions "ridiculous."
Jazz chairman Ryan Smith also offered a public apology to the Grizzlies, Ja Morant and his family.
Ja Morant has been a force to be reckoned with through two playoff games thus far. During Game 2, though, he put up an incredible performance, notching 47 points, four rebounds and seven assists while shooting 57.7% from the field and 28.6% from deep.
The 21-year-old will look to replicate that performance in Game 3 on Saturday night.
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