Celtics ban fan for 2 years; accused of racist comment

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics have banned a fan from its games for two years for being verbally abusive toward the Warriors during their only visit to Boston this season.

The team says it didn’t enforce a lifetime ban because its investigation couldn’t prove that the fan used a racial slur toward Golden State forward DeMarcus Cousins.

According to a Yahoo! report, Cousins said the fan “muttered” a racial slur at him on Jan. 26.

The Celtics say the fan, who is a minor, was ejected from the game immediately after they received the complaint. The team says it reviewed videotape and spoke with fans, police and security in the area and concluded the fan was verbally abusive toward the Golden State bench.

The investigation found that “none of the interviewed parties were able to verify the use of racially offensive language, and video evidence proved inconclusive.”