Banned Utah fan sues Russell Westbrook, Jazz for $100 million

The lawsuit seeks $100 million in damages from the Utah Jazz and Westbrook, who accused the fan of making racist comments at a March game.

Shane Keisel, who received a lifetime arena ban by the Utah Jazz in March, is now suing the team and Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook. The fan claims he was wrongly accused of yelling racist and derogatory remarks at Westbrook, who then played for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

According to the new lawsuit, Keisel and his girlfriend, Jennifer Huff, want a public apology and significant financial damages. The attorneys are seeking $68 million in damages for Keisel and $32 million for Huff on claims of defamation and infliction of emotional distress.

According to Benjamin Wood and Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, attempts to reach Westbrook or his representation were not immediately successful. However, TMZ reported Tuesday that a source close to Westbrook referred to the lawsuit as “meritless.”

Per TMZ, the source said:

The lawsuit is meritless. The Jazz conducted their own investigation of the guy’s conduct at that game and based on their investigation, they decided to ban him from attending any future Jazz games.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in the 4th District Court in Utah County on behalf of Keisel and Huff. In their story, Wood and Larsen explain the lawsuit’s details and allegations:

A video of Westbrook shouting at Keisel and Huff was widely circulated on social media, but Westbrook later said he was provoked by Keisel telling him to “get down on your knees like you used to.”

But in the lawsuit, attorneys for Keisel argue that Westbrook misheard or mischaracterized Keisel’s comments, and that Keisel had told Westbrook to wrap his knees to be better able to play later on in the game.

The lawsuit goes on to describe an escalating controversy in which Westbrook described Keisel’s comments as racist, Westbrook’s fans campaigned for Keisel to be fired from his job — which he ultimately was — and the Jazz took punitive action against Keisel based exclusively on Westbrook’s version of events.

Frank Zang, senior vice president of communications for the Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment ownership group, said in a newly released statement to The Salt Lake Tribune that there is no legal or factual basis for the lawsuit’s claims.

“The organization investigated the underlying incident and acted in an appropriate and responsible manner,” Zang said. “We intend to vigorously defend [against] the lawsuit.”

When the Jazz banned Keisel in March, their statement made it clear that other evidence from their investigation — including video review and eyewitness accounts — corroborated Westbrook’s story:

The organization conducted an investigation through video review and eyewitness accounts. The ban is based on excessive and derogatory verbal abuse directed at a player during the game that violated the NBA Code of Conduct.

The Utah Jazz will not tolerate fans who act inappropriately. There is no place in our game for personal attacks or disrespect.

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy and play the game in a safe, positive and inclusive environment,” Steve Starks, president of the Jazz, said at the time. Offensive and abusive behavior does not reflect the values of the Miller family, our organization and the community. We all have a responsibility to respect the game of basketball and, more importantly, each other as human beings.”

Jazz players supported Westbrook after the game, with star guard Donovan Mitchell issuing a lengthy statement explaining his perspective.

In that statement, Mitchell noted that “this is not the first time something like this has happened in our arena.” In Westbrook’s own comments issued after that March 11 game, he indicated that many disrespectful things had been said to him in Utah over the course of his NBA career.

To that point, days after the first incident, the Jazz also permanently banned a second fan after video surfaced of another inappropriate interaction with Westbrook during the 2018 NBA playoffs.

Westbrook’s first visit to Salt Lake City of the 2019-20 season is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27, when the Jazz host the Rockets.

[lawrence-related id=17342]