Blackhawks ban fans who shouted racist taunts at Capitals player

The Chicago Blackhawks have taken swift action against fans who chanted racist taunts at a black Washington Capitals player.

Caps forward Devante Smith-Pelly was sent to the penalty box after a fight during the third period of Saturday’s game. According to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, four Blackhawks fans up against the box began chanting “Basketball! Basketball!” at him.

Smith-Pelly confronted the fans through the glass, and all four were ejected by arena security. On Monday, the team announced that the fans have been banned from all future Blackhawks games.

Blackhawks have contacted the ejected fans from Saturday night and told them they are banned from future games. Via a team spokesperson: "Racist comments and other inappropriate behavior are not tolerated by the Chicago Blackhawks."

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) February 19, 2018

Unfortunately, racist heckling happens at sporting events from time to time. Luckily, teams tend to deal with it fairly aggressively.