Jazz's Mitchell, Sefolosha back Westbrook after run-in with Utah fan

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell backs Russell Westbrook's characterization of Monday's incident involving the Oklahoma City Thunder star and a fan, saying it's not the first time something similar has happened at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Westbrook confronted a heckler sitting along the baseline and threatened the fan and his wife. The Thunder point guard later told reporters that he believed there was a racist component to the heckling. The fan, identified as Shane Keisel, denied that to Jeremiah Jensen of KSL-TV.

"I am personally hurt by the incident at the game on March 11th," Mitchell said in a statement Tuesday. "As a black man living in a community I love, and playing on a team that gives me the opportunity to live out my dreams, this incident hits close to home. Racism and hate speech hurts us all, and this is not the first time something like this has happened in our arena."

Jazz reserve swingman Thabo Sefolosha also agreed with Westbrook's account of what occurred and called for fans to be held responsible for making derogatory remarks.

"I stand 100 percent with Russell Westbrook on what happened in yesterday's game," Sefolosha wrote in an Instagram post. "I love our fans but there are limits that (cannot) be crossed!

"Support and cheer for your team and enjoy the action but fans like Shane Keisel who use that platform to spur (their) hateful and racist views need to be held accountable."