Photo Credit: Jordan Clarkson/Instagram
Utah Jazz player Jordan Clarkson was getting heckled from the stands in San Antonio Monday and he wasn’t having it. During a timeout he was headed over to the bench when a fan stood up and had something to say to him. That’s when as journalist Raul Dominguez Jr. reported that he went straight for him. And if it wasn’t for his teammates and Security holding him back, it could have gotten ugly. The fan was eventually removed from the venue.
Jordan Clarkson was held back by teammates after a fan said something to him. Clarkson was frustrated after another non-call and then having a 3-pointer he raced back to try to defend bounced in. As a timeout was called, a fan stood up and said something. Clarkson walked toward pic.twitter.com/05r6Cexp1n
— Raul Dominguez Jr. (@Abrjsdad) December 28, 2021
Clarkson told the media his words were straight “malicious.” He went on to say “The guy just keeps antagonizing me, like almost challenges me, like, ‘What you going to do?’ Fans got to learn, we human. We people too.” He said he usually has playful banter with fans but this crossed the line. “It did cross the line,” Clarkson said. “I was walking away initially, and then he said something again. And, I turned back around and then he said it again. And, I’m just like, ‘What’s going on?!'”
And the reason things didn’t escalate was the possibility of a fine and a suspension is what stopped him from really going there with him. In the end, his team won 110 to 104.
Over the summer he spoke out about keeping the temperature in the room down as it pertains to hateful rhetoric by sharing his thoughts on the recent uptick in anti-Asian violence. The Filipino-American NBA player offered to help repair a Filipino food truck that was vandalized in Utah. He tweeted pics of the damaged truck saying, “It hurt me deeply to see that Salt Lake’s @yumyumasian food truck was recently vandalized – I know the pain that hateful language and racism causes. With help from @identitygraphix we’ll be able to restore the truck and hopefully lift Ben and his family’s spirit!!”
And given his support of those trying to stop anti-Asian violence, it would be unfortunate to see him turn around and go f*ck up a fan in the stands although it would be understandable given the circumstances.
