Cavs ban fan who hurled racist taunts toward Spurs' Patty Mills

Gabe Fernandez

Cavs ban fan who hurled racist taunts toward Spurs' Patty Mills image

The Cavs have identified and banned the fan who heckled Spurs guard Patty Mills with racist taunts during Sunday's matchup, as ESPN's Dave McMenamin first reported.

The person has been banned from Quicken Loans Arena indefinitely, but a review will be conducted after one year.

With 2:29 remaining in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Mills stepped up to the free throw line, which is when arena microphones picked up the comments hurled his way. A fan's video of the broadcast believed the heckler called Mills a "Jamaican dog," but ESPN later reported that he, in fact, said "Jamaica called," in reference to Mills' appearance. 

"Hey Jamaica called, they want their bobsledder back. Hey Mills, Jamaica just called, they want their bobsledder back," the fan yelled.

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Mills then took to Twitter to show solidarity with Jamaicans as someone from an island nation who has been subjected to racist taunts before, and he used the moment to promote Black History Month.

This is the second recent case of a team handing bans to fans chanting racist abuse toward players. The Chicago Blackhawks kicked out — and later banned — four fans who repeatedly chanted "basketball" to Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly.

Gabe Fernandez