During the 4th quarter of Sunday’s 110-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, a Cavs fan decided to yell a few outlandish remarks at Patty Mills as he was stood at the free-throw line. The remarks were heard on ABC’s live telecast, and now the team is cracking down.
“Hey, Jamaican dog, they want their bobsledder back!” the fan shouted. “Hey Mills, Jamaica just called, they want their bobsledder back!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANF9jXst0mE
After a bit of investigating, the Cavs were able to identify the so-called fan. According to a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the heckler has been banned from Quicken Loans Arena indefinitely. The incident will be re-evaluated by the team in one year. Maybe he’ll be allowed back in, maybe not.
Twitter user @thats_Z_Truth pointed out the heckler’s nasty remarks late during Sunday’s game.
Mills responded with an appreciative, educational message.
“I am a proud Islander,” Mills said in his reply tweet. “Like my Jamaican Brothers, me and my family in the islands of the Torres Strait have experienced racial slurs for decades. I hope your efforts will enlighten this confused, hateful fan. #BlackHistoryMonth”
Mills, now 29 years of age, was born in Canberra, Aistralia. His father, Benny, is a Torres Strait Islander, and his mother, Yvonne, is an Aboriginal Australian who was a victim of the “Stolen Generations,” – one of the darkest stories in Australian history.
To be frank, there is no need for the sort of behavior this fan displayed — no matter the setting. As Americans, we should all respect the second paragraph in our Declaration of Independence.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”