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SALT LAKE CITY — For as long as he can remember, Devin Deaton has been attending Jazz games.
“My family has had season tickets there on the second row like right behind where the Miller’s seat,” Deaton said in an interview with KSL Newsradio.
The 32-year-old fan estimated he’s been to over 100 Jazz games over his lifetime. He’s seen thrilling victories, heart-breaking losses and everything in between. But one thing he’s never experienced while at Vivint Arena is hearing a demeaning or vulgar comment coming from the crowd.
The type of “excessive and derogatory verbal abuse” comment that got a fan, Shane Keisel, permanently banned from attending Vivint Arena events after a verbal altercation with Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook on Monday.
“We are right there close enough to where we are hearing what's going on between the players and the fans,” Deaton said. “Through all my years, I've never heard people say bigotry comments or racist comments or any of this stuff.”
He admits that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but he’s trying to help change the reputation of Jazz fans — a reputation that has taken a hit since Monday's incident.
Deaton has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $25,000 — the amount of Westbrook’s fine for his response to the fan — to give to the Human Right Campaign Foundation.
“Hopefully people will see that as an apology to Westbrook,” Deaton said. “And just an overall, ‘Hey, this is who we really are.’”
Jazz fans crossing the line isn’t a new narrative. And many former and current players can recall hearing some nasty language while playing in Salt Lake City.
“There were some borderline things said in Utah where they might as well have called me the N-word,” Former NBA player Kenyon Martin told ESPN. “But if I get close to them with the same energy, they are going to play the victim. There are things said everywhere else too. I’ve heard things in Boston. Utah is the worst.”
Related story:
Jazz fan banned for Russell Westbrook incident; Mitchell calls out hate speech
After a Utah Jazz fan was banned for a verbal altercation with Russell Westbrook, Donovan Mitchell is willing to work to remove hate speech from the Jazz's arena.A video posted by the Deseret News shows a fan calling Westbrook “boy” twice during warmups of a playoff game last season — the second time came after Westbrook appeared to tell the fan not to say it. The Thunder star called over security after the fan shouted it at him again.
So Monday’s altercation wasn’t an isolated incident — but that also doesn’t mean they are the norm either. And that’s what Deaton is trying to show by his campaign.
“I just want the national media and everyone to know that Jazz fans and the Utah community, in general, are not what that guy is portraying us to be,” Deaton said. “We are not a bunch of racists, we are not bigots, we are not ignorant. Most of us are super nice people. We are moms, we are dads, we're friends. We do right by our fellow man. We are good neighbors, we are hard working, we are just overall generally good people. That’s why I wanted the tune to change.”
Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell both offered support of Westbrook over the incident, but also stood up for the majority of the Jazz fans. Gobert told ESPN that he has never heard a racist comment while playing at home. And Mitchell shared that the altercation wasn’t representative of the fanbase that he has come to know.
"The Utah that I have come to love is welcoming and inclusive and last night’s incident is not indicative of our fanbase," Mitchell said. "We don’t want to create a negative reputation for athletes who potentially may want to come to Utah."
Contributing: Kira Hoffelmeyer, KSL Newsradio
