The Toronto Raptors 鈥渟uperfan鈥� has reconciled in person with the man who directed a racist tweet at him during the spring playoffs.
Nav Bhatia, a car dealership owner who is well-known among Raptors fans as a consistent at home games, told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning that he met with the man and his son for dinner and a game earlier this month in Milwaukee.
It was the fulfilment of a promise the two made online six months ago after the since-deleted tweet that likened Bhatia鈥檚 turban to 鈥渦nderwear鈥� set off a firestorm of support for Bhatia online in May.
鈥淔rom this negative situation, we changed (it) into (a) positive situation. That鈥檚 what we do. When people go low, we go high,鈥� he said, echoing an oft-cited Michelle Obama speech.
鈥淚n the end, when we were hugging and saying goodbye, he said, 鈥榃e are friends forever.鈥欌��
Bhatia suggested the pair go for dinner when the man called him after the incident in May to apologize. 鈥淗e made a mistake. He was crying on the phone call,鈥� recalled Bhatia on Your Morning. 鈥淚 asked him about his family. He says, 鈥業 have a 10-year-old kid.鈥� I said, 鈥榊ou want to bring him up in this world like that?鈥欌��
Bhatia said the man asked for his forgiveness, to which he said he would forgive him on the condition that they have dinner and go to the Raptors game the next time Bhatia is in Milwaukee. He even got the man and his 11-year-old son into the Bucks locker room after the game so the boy could meet his favourite player, Brook Lopez.
The Raptors 鈥渟uperfan鈥� felt that the response to the racist tweet was overwhelming, saying that the man was getting 鈥渒illed鈥� on social media for the comments.
鈥淚f we are going to kill him, and he did the wrong thing, what鈥檚 the difference between him and us?鈥� he recalled thinking.
Bhatia said after this month鈥檚 dinner and a game, he invited the man to visit Canada next summer.
