- Patty Mills was subjected to racist abuse while paying for the San Antonio Spurs
- Mills was taking free throws against Cleveland Cavaliers when abuse happened
- Mic caught person shouting ‘Jamaican dog, they want their bobsledder back’
- Mills is a Torres Strait Islander, a fact he pointed out afterwards on Twitter
Basketball star Patty Mills has hit out at a ‘confused, hateful fan’ after he was racially abused while playing for the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.
Mills was stepping up to the free throw line in the 4th quarter as the Spurs led the Cleveland Cavaliers when a microphone caught someone shouting from the crowd.
‘Hey, Jamaican dog. They want their bobsledder back,’ the ‘fan’ was heard yelling.
Patty Mills was taking free throws against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night when a microphone caught one ‘fan’ shouting racist abuse at him
The voice can be heard calling Mills a ‘Jamaican dog’ and telling him ‘they want their bobsledder back’, despite the fact that he’s from the Torres Islands
Having sunk the first shot, the heckler tried to get Mills’ attention again. ‘Jamaica just called; they want their bobsledder back,’ they added.
Mills is not Jamaican but is of mixed Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage – a fact he pointed out on Twitter after the game.
Fan Zandra Ashley sent footage of the abuse to Mills, and he responded: ‘I am a proud Islander.
‘Like my Jamaican Brothers, me & my family in the islands of the Torres Strait have experienced racial slurs for decades.
After a viewer posted a video of the abuse to Mills on Twitter he responded saying he hoped to ‘enlighten this confused, hateful fan’
On Twitter, Mills describes himself as being ‘a very proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ and is pictured with the Torres Island and Aboriginal flags
‘Hope your efforts will enlighten this confused, hateful fan.’
Fans have since called on the NBA to investigate the abuse, calling the display ‘disgraceful and embarrassing’.
Mills sunk both of his free throws and threw two three-pointers as the Spurs beat the Cavs 110-94 inside the Quicken Loans Arena.
The abuse overshadowed what was a good night for the Spurs as they broke a four-game losing streak.
The team retains third place in the Western Conference with a 36-25 record with only 21 games remaining on their schedule.