Racism has no place in sports.



Or rather - racism should have no place in sports.



During an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics on January 26 a fan directed racial slurs at DeMarcus Cousins. After DeMarcus made the security team aware of the situation, TD Garden staff took care of the fan, who ultimately received a two-year ban out of the arena, per Chris Haynes' report.



I'm a huge Celtics fan and hate to see the organisation I love make mistakes on such important matters. There is absolutely no doubt in the mind of many of my fellow supporters, as well as my own, that tolerating such behavior and not trying to completely get rid of it is one such mistake.

In 2017 Adam Jones, playing for the Orioles, was subjected to similar racial slurs, while a "fan" also threw a peanut bag at him at Fenway Park. Sadly, there are many more instances like that and players talking about them surrounding Boston, propagating its racist stereotype. Limiting the ban of the fan from January 26th does nothing but make it stronger. A conversation about fan-player exchange is currently in the public eye after Russell Westbrook shouted back at the fan in Utah.

The solution here is simple - ban the racist fan for lifetime. I believe not a single Celtics, or visiting, fan wants to sit next to them, be it 2 years or 20 years into the future. That ban does not send the right message, it is not strong enough. Racist fans shouldn't have a seat in TD Garden. They should not have a seat in any arena in Boston, nor any other arena in the world. There should be something more we could do, but extending the ban seems like the only realistic option at this time.



Let us enjoy the beautiful game. Say no to racism.