The trend of NBA fans acting disrespectfully toward NBA players and their families has made its way to the west coast. During the Jazz's 141-129 playoff victory against the Memphis Grizzlies, the father of Memphis Grizzlies Point Guard Ja Morant said that there were three incidents in which fans made "disrespectful" comments toward him and his family. According to Tee Morant, security swiftly responded to each incident and removed the fans involved. Following the game, the Utah Jazz banned each of the fans indefinitely.
"I know heckling," Tee Morant told ESPN.
"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 anything like that heckling. That's beyond heckling."
Ja Morant was equally annoyed with what took place earlier this week in Utah. He also applauded the Jazz's decision to ban the trio indefinitely.
"My family should be able [to] cheer for me and my teammates without getting inappropriate s--- said to them," Ja Morant added.
This is the third incident in which a fan had to be removed from a game because they acted inappropriately toward a player or their family members. In Philadelphia, a fan poured popcorn on Washington Wizards Point Guard Russell Westbrook. Just a few hours away, a fan was banned after spitting on Atlanta Hawks Point Guard Trae Young. Both fans have been banned by the 76ers and Knicks respectively.
"To be completely honest, this s--- is getting out of hand, especially for me. The amount of disrespect, the [number] of fans just doing whatever the f--- they want to do -- it's just out of pocket," Westbrook said when asked about recent fan behavior.
"In these arenas, you got to start protecting the players. We'll see what the NBA does."
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