Donovan Mitchell Reveals How Utah Fans Were “Draining”

Donovan Mitchell is currently thriving on the Cleveland Cavaliers. There have been some growing pains along the way, however, it is clear that Mitchell is in a better place. The Cavs have room to grow into the best team in the East, and he is definitely the future of the franchise.

Mitchell is coming from a situation in Utah that was detrimental to his growth. Alongside Rudy Gobert, it was becoming quite clear that the duo couldn’t contend with the upper echelon of teams out West. Additionally, the Jazz seemingly had a rebuild in mind.

Recently, Mitchell spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about his transition from Utah to Cleveland. During this conversation, Mitchell was open and honest about how Jazz fans were exhausting to deal with. He felt like many of them didn’t respect him as a black man and that he feels much happier and safer in Cleveland. Overall, it’s easy to empathize with Mitchell as Jazz fans have a less-than-stellar reputation.

Donovan Mitchell Speaks His Mind

“It’s no secret there’s a lot of stuff that I dealt with being in Utah off the floor,” Mitchell said. “If I’m being honest with you, I never really said this, but it was draining. It was just draining on my energy just because you can’t sit in your room and cheer for me and then do all these different things. I’m not saying specifically every fan, but I just feel like it was a lot of things. A [Utah] state senator [Stuart Adams] saying I need to get educated on my own Black history. Seeing Black kids getting bullied because of their skin color. Seeing a little girl [Isabella Tichenor] hang herself because she’s being bullied.

“Man, it was just one thing after another. And I will say, it’s not the only place it happens. But for me, I’m continuing to be an advocate for [racial equality] and to receive the amount of pushback I got over the years, it was a lot.”

Now, Mitchell is in a much friendlier environment, which will set him at ease from week to week. The worst feeling as a player is to think the fanbase hates you, and now, Mitchell will not have to worry about that.

Let us know what you think of Mitchell’s honesty, in the comments below. Also, stay tuned to HNHH for more news from the NBA world.

[Via]