Ja Morant's father, Tee Morant, was subjected to vulgar and racist comments during Game 2 of the first round playoff series between the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz.
"I know heckling," Tee Morant said in a phone interview with ESPN on Thursday night. "We were doing that the whole game. But that's different than heckling. That's straight up disrespectful. That was too far out of line. You don't say nothing like that heckling. That's beyond heckling."
Ja Morant, in a tweet posted later Thursday, agreed with Utah's decision to ban the fans, writing, "my family should be able [to] cheer for me & my teammates without getting inappropriate s--- said to them."
Morant went on to write that his family told him they "felt the love from all the other jazz fans who were around them" and that it was just the three fans who "went too far."
Tee Morant said one fan made a sexually explicit remark to his wife, Jamie.
According to Tee Morant, another Jazz fan told him, "I'll put a nickel in your back and watch you dance, boy."
Several other Jazz fans confronted that fan and alerted security.
"The Utah Jazz have zero tolerance for offensive or disruptive behavior," the Jazz said in a statement Thursday. "An incident occurred last night involving a verbal altercation during Game 2. Arena security staff intervened, and the investigation resulted in the removal and banning of three Jazz fans indefinitely.
"We apologize to all who were impacted by this unfortunate incident and condemn unacceptable fan behavior."
