The Utah Jazz have taken a page from the Boston Red Sox’s playbook.
Jazz president Steve Starks sought advice from Red Sox officials last week on how the team should handle Russell Westbrook’s altercation with a fan, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones. Westbrook threatened a Jazz fan March 11 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in response to race-related taunts, and the Jazz consulted NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the Red Sox for guidance on how to handle incident.
The Red Sox confronted a similar situation in May 2017 when a fan racially taunted Baltimore Orioles owner Adam Jones at Fenway Park. Major League Baseball condemned the fan’s behavior, the Red Sox apologized to Jones and fans give him a standing ovation the next day prior to his first at bat.
Exactly what advice the Red Sox gave Starks is unknown, but the Jazz addressed the incident with Westbrook swiftly. They banned the fan, Shane Keisel, from their arena for life last Tuesday and issued the same punishment to another fan, who racially abused Westbrook during last season’s playoffs.
Furthermore, Jazz owner Gail Miller implored fans to uphold standards of decency Thursday night in a statement she read at mid-court prior to Utah’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team also increased security at Vivint Smart Home Arena and established a text line for fans to report bad behavior among their ranks. The Jazz also conducted an internal dialogue on Westbrook’s altercation with the fan and allowed their players and staff to comment on it publicly.
