The Boston Celtics released a statement on Friday afternoon regarding their decision to ban a fan for two years, after he reportedly called DeMarcus Cousins the n-word when the Warriors visited the TD Garden on January 26.
According to NBC Boston's Chris Forsberg, the Celtics' statement reads, in part:
"In the course of this investigation, we were able to conclude that the fan had been verbally abusive toward the Golden State bench, but none of the interviewed parties were able to verify the use of racially offensive language, and video evidence proved inconclusive."
Cousins informed arena security immediately after the incident and the fan, who the Celtics today revealed was a minor, was promptly removed from the building. The team also explained that the fan was issued a two-year ban, but is still subject to lifetime probation.
”Immediately upon receiving the complaint, the fan, who was a minor, was ejected. The following day, per our policy regarding any reported fan behavior complaint, the team initiated an exhaustive investigation of the incident that included reviewing video from multiple angles and identifying and interviewing numerous fans, security personnel, and police in the immediate vicinity."
“Based on our investigation, the fan was issued a two-year ban from all Celtics games, and is also subject to lifetime probation pursuant to our policy. The punishment for any corroborated discriminatory language used towards any player, employee or fan at a Celtics home game is a lifetime ban.”
The Celtics concluded their statement on the matter, “We were in contact with the Golden State Warriors through this process, sharing our action plan and the final discipline. We express the deepest regrets that this incident happened to DeMarcus, as such behavior violates everything the Boston Celtics have always stood for."