Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook was captured on video during his team’s game against the Utah Jazz berating, swearing at and threatening to fight a Jazz fan and his wife. That fan has now been banned permanently by the Utah Jazz and Vivint Smart Home Arena.
SALT LAKE CITY — Video shows Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook berating, swearing at and threatening to fight a Utah Jazz fan and his wife at a game Monday night.
The video is getting a lot of national attention the morning after the Thunder beat the Jazz in Salt Lake City.
The fan in the altercation spoke exclusively to KSL TV’s Jeremiah Jensen, saying it started when Joe Ingles of the Jazz accidentally poked the Thunder’s Paul George in the eye.
“Joe goes over and apologizes immediately, Russ is just carrying on, f-bombing and acting a fool down here, and everybody’s getting on him,” said Shane Kiesel. Then he talked about Westbrook’s knees: “I thought it was ice, I told him ‘sit down and ice your knees bro.’ He turned to me and said, ‘It’s heat,’ and I went, “Well you’re gonna need it.'”
Kiesel said he and his wife didn’t do anything wrong.
“I never said a swear word to him. And she never left her seat, never said a word, hands in her lap,” he said.
He’s most upset that his wife was threatened.
Meanwhile, Westbrook was calm when he gave his statement to the media after the game.
“Young man and his wife in the stand told me to get down on my knees like I used to,” he said.
The Thunder point guard believed the statement from the fan was racial, and that it’s unfair that players receive no protection.
“If I had to do it over again, I would say the same exact thing,” he said.
Westbrook then clarified that he would never harm a woman.