The Utah Jazz fans who got into a verbal altercation with then-Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook earlier this year have reportedly filed a $100,000,000 defamation lawsuit against Westbrook and the Jazz, according to Benjamin Wood and Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune.
The report claims that Shane Keisel, who received a lifetime ban from Utah's Vivint Smart Home Arena, is seeking $68 million in damages and a public apology, while his girlfriend, Jennifer Huff, wants $32 million in damages.
The incident in question took place in March of the 2018-19 season, after Westbrook reportedly heard Keisel say, "Get down on your knees like you're used to." As seen in the footage embedded below, Westbrook quickly responded, "I'll fuck you up. You and your wife. I'll fuck you up."
Keisel claims he actually told Westbrook "that he should just sit down and ice his knees."
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, in the lawsuit Keisel is described as "an Army veteran and formal law enforcement officer, who once worked on the security detail for a Utah governor." He reportedly lost his jobs at Brent Brown Toyota and Skywest Airlines after the ordeal with Westbrook.
TMZ Sports spoke with someone close to Westbrook about the lawsuit, and they seem more than confident that the court will support the Utah Jazz's initial investigation. The source tells TMZ, "The lawsuit is meritless. The Jazz conducted their own investigation of the guy's conduct at that game and based on their investigation, they decided to ban him from attending any future Jazz games."