Small Victory: Boston Celtics ban fan for 18 months after racially abusing Warriors DeMarcus Cousin

The Boston Celtics decided to ban a fan from attending home games for 18 months after he was found guilty of racially abusing Golden State center DeMarcus Cousins.

Blue Telusma

Mar 29, 2019

This week the Boston Celtics have officially taken a stance against racial abuse and banned a fan from attending home games for the next 18 months.

According to Newsweek, on January 26, several fans taunted Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins by calling him the N-word during a Warriors game in Boston.

Cousins kept his cool, and then alerted a member of the Celtics’ security personnel, who handled the situation. Although the Celtics were swift in their stance against this behavior and imposed a ban on the fan the day the incident took place, their decision was only recently communicated to the Warriors and Cousins.

On their official website, TD Garden clearly warns all guests that they have to comply with its code of conduct or face the risk of being evicted or arrested, stating, “Guests will enjoy the event experience free from disruptive behavior, including foul or abusive language and obscene gestures.”

Yahoo Sources: A fan in Boston banned two years for muttering n***** at DeMarcus Cousins during Golden State’s only visit to TD Garden. More details in video link provided. https://t.co/xWpgFu0amH pic.twitter.com/JbtFOt3scZ

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 29, 2019

Despite the racially charged reactions from the crowd, Cousins was still able to finish the game with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, helping the Warriors beat the Celtics 115-111 during that January game.

This isn’t the first racially charged incident to take place this NBA season. In early March, the Utah Jazz chose to permanently ban Shane Keisel from the Vivint Smart Home Arena due to what they described as “excessive and derogatory verbal abuse” aimed at Russell Westbrook.

Although Westbrook was initially criticized for arguing with the spectator, he later clarified that he was simply reacting to Keisel’s egregious behavior.

“How it started was, a young man and his wife in the stands told me to ‘Get down on my knees like I used to.’ And for me, that’s just completely disrespectful to me,” Westbook explained. “I think it’s racial, I think it’s inappropriate in the sense that there is no protection for the players.”

After an extensive review of the video evidence and numerous eyewitness accounts, the team sided with Westbrook and chose to enforce the lifetime ban on Keisel.