"It's a classless, immature grown man who represents the majority of Utah fans," said Lakers fan Matt Azzam, 20, after seeing the picture. "Like all teams, there are some rowdy fans, but Jazz fans cross the limits. They don't realize [Jazz owner Larry] Miller let Fisher go from his contract and that he made the move to L.A. for his family."
When shown the picture, some Jazz fans were also embarrassed. Jordan Raygoza, 17, said, "Of course [it's crossing the line], because it's a personal matter for Fisher and he did a lot for Utah last year through his problems."
This isn't all, though. Several fans who attended the game have said that some Jazz fans were chanting "cancer" over and over again when Fisher touched the ball or shot free throws.
"If it is true, and the fans did chant 'cancer,' it is absolutely heartless of them," Azzam said.
"There is a moral boundary that anyone with common sense should know and not cross, and the Jazz fans obviously don't have any regard for Derek Fisher, his family (especially his daughter), and anyone who has suffered from cancer. To make a mockery of such a life-threatening issue is 100 percent morally wrong, and there is no justification for it."
Implications and history
For a group of people to chant something so insensitive is just disgusting to me. What if Derek Fisher's daughter had been in attendance at the game? How would she feel when she sees people covering their eyes and screaming or hearing the chants of cancer?
"It's a pretty disgraceful thing to do and I'm sad to be a fellow Jazz fan," Raygoza said.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened in Utah, either. Last year, during the Golden State series that I talked about earlier, fans apparently shouted racist comments at African-American players on the Warriors.
Talking about the difference between playing at home compared to on the road during the series against the Jazz, Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said, "Well, we're not hearing racial slurs, we're not hearing people wishing for me to go to jail. That's the difference for me. I'm loved here in Oakland."
Jason Richardson said he and his teammates were caught off-guard by the slurs.
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