From Keisel v. Westbrook, decided today by the Utah Court of Appeals (written by Judge Ryan D. Tenney and joined by Judges Michele M. Christiansen Forster and Ryan M. Harris); for some reason, I couldn't find the full opinion yet on the court's website, but I'll link to it when it's up:
In March 2019, the Utah Jazz were playing a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Midway through the second quarter, Russell Westbrook, the Thunder's point guard at the time, had a verbal altercation with Shane Keisel, a Jazz fan who was sitting next to his girlfriend Jennifer Huff just a few rows up from the court. In the initial moments of this altercation, Keisel said something to Westbrook that included the phrase "on your knees." Westbrook responded profanely and aggressively, and his response was caught on video and then circulated on social media before the game had concluded. When Westbrook was asked about the altercation in a post-game interview, Westbrook said that he thought Keisel's initial comment to him was "racial." Westbrook also said that Keisel's "wife" had made a similar comment.
The Jazz quickly investigated the altercation, determined that Keisel had violated a code of conduct that governs fan behavior, and banned Keisel from attending its home games for life. Before the next home game, then-owner Gail Miller addressed the crowd and said, among other things, "We are not a racist community." …
Keisel and Huff sued for libel and related torts, but the court rejected the claim:
