Donovan Mitchell, NBA Players Defend Russell Westbrook After Heckler Incident

NBA players, including Donovan Mitchell and Dwyane Wade, came to Russell Westbrook's defense after his altercation with a Utah fan.

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell came to Russell Westbrook's defense on Tuesday after the Thunder star was caught telling a Utah heckler, "I'll f--- you up."

Westbrook got into a verbal altercation with the fan Monday and used profanity in the incident with the heckler and he responded to fans by saying, "I'll f--- you up. You and your wife." Westbrook said the incident started when, "a young man and his wife in the stands told [him] 'to get down on my knees like you used to." Westbrook told reporters, "To me, that’s just completely disrespectful, to me, I think it’s racial, and I think it’s inappropriate and insensitive."

Warning, this video contains explicit language.

On Monday, Mitchell released a statement saying he was "personally hurt" by the incident. He wrote, "Racism and hate speech hurts us all, and this is not the first time something like this has happened at our arena."

We have to do better... we will do better! 💯 pic.twitter.com/heBO4z66TY

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) March 12, 2019

Other NBA stars, including Oklahoma City teammate Patrick Patterson and Heat superstar Dwayne Wade, offered support. 

Lies people tell https://t.co/mgPOIWeOZf

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 12, 2019

Fans can say shit about a mans family, wife, & kids.. Tell a player “Get down on your knees like your use to.” As men, what do you expect us to do? Shut up & dribble? No one is held accountable for their actions except for us. Fans are protected in every way possible but not us.

— Patrick Patterson (@pdpatt) March 12, 2019

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The Thunder next face the Nets on Wednesday.