A Victorian man has been arrested following alleged racist social media abuse directed at NBL player Montrezl Harrell.
The 37-year-old from Melbourne was charged after messaging Harrell, who plays for the Adelaide 36ers, hateful messages from an alleged anonymous account.
Victorian Police say that this arrest was the first of its kind, after the messages were reported by Basketball Australia’s integrity unit, with the hope that abuse of athletes on social media will now be able to be properly punished.
Australian man arrested following racist social media abuse of Montrezl Harrell
Following an Adelaide 36ers game against Melbourne United in Melbourne’s John Cain Arena last November, an anonymous account allegedly sent a number of abusive messages to the 36ers social media accounts, pertaining to import and former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell.
After police were made aware of these messages, they were able to track down and arrest the man responsible for them, in what they say is the first successful arrest of this kind.
“These messages were sent from an anonymous account, with officers working to identify the sender since the matter was referred to Victoria Police,” police said, noting that the man had been “charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass and/or offend.”
Adelaide, who recently re-signed Harrell, thanked both Basketball Australian and Victoria Police for their effort in dealing with this issue.
“The Adelaide 36ers commend Victoria Police and Basketball Australia’s Integrity Unit for their strong stance in pursuing this matter,” the team said in a statement.
“The club will continue to call out racism and remains committed to ensuring it provides and is part of an inclusive, welcoming and safe environment for players, staff and fans.”
If you remember from last season when Montrezl received this racist message, the individual, thanks to Basketball Australia and VicPol, was arrested.
Hopefully this sets a precedent for those to think twice before being a shit human. #NBL #NBL26 pic.twitter.com/8zCZ6kwKDt
— Pleb (@NBLPleb) July 11, 2025
Harrell was a lightning rod during his debut NBL season, bringing plenty of excitement on court for the 36ers as he claimed All-NBL Second Team honours, but was also unfortunately subject to abuse of this kind on numerous occasions, with the player himself also posting about his experience.
The accused Melbourne man will face Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court in August, with Harrell and the rest of the NBL returning to action mid-September.
