Raptors "Super-fan" Challenges Racial Stereotypes

April 23, 2014

Nav Bhatia has spent millions of dollars on the team he loves – the Toronto Raptors.

It’s a passion that was sparked by a humiliating incident of racism.

Instead of getting angry, Bhatina decided he would use his passion for basketball to help bring his community to the mainstream and end the racial stereotype.

0:05 now have Bhatia has spent millions of dollars on his love at the Toronto
0:10 Raptors
0:10 tonight inside story is really about the money though but more the reason
0:15 why he's Canada's biggest superfan A very thank you go right now is a fixture
0:20 courtside people across the country know him simply a super fan and he hasn't
0:24 jumped
0:25 on or off the Raptors bandwagon he is the bandwagon
0:28 but few know the motivation behind is very expensive obsession
0:32 with the sport now
0:36 that here isn't your typical superfan a
0:40 space hair dye his hair he hasn't worked out as walls with sporting paraphernalia
0:46 there are no matching waves over the top outfits for body flags
0:50 but there's absolutely no mistaking now is love for the Toronto Raptors
0:54 this is my prediction people tell me all you want addicted my wife's sister
0:58 yes I agree I don't drink
1:02 I don't smoke I don't woman nice I only that price
1:06 this is now scored site theme he's been here for every single game since the
1:12 Raptors franchise was born in 1995
1:15 you become friends with all the players and coaches
1:18 and the country's and the rest for you hola and appraisals
1:22 and Drake and but none of that makes now have a super fan and understand her dads
1:27 you first need to know about this
1:30 India 1984 India in that time
1:34 could cost you your life yes candidate
1:37 tube so many Sikhs though many were massacred because there were six
1:42 Navin his young wife Lee anti-sikh riots for a better life in Canada
1:46 landed in Martin not a basement forty and fifty dollars
1:50 border force bed for ten dollars from a street sale
1:53 the man whose religion was the focus have rights in India found his turban
1:58 a barrier to work here even still not managed to go from car salesman to
2:02 general manager in just four years
2:04 the first year became a general manager payette pencils people
2:08 eight of them design that in order to work for get hour later
2:14 headed back get back in the day his state nap turn the other cheek and kept
2:18 working hard climbing the dealership latter
2:20 and then this humiliating moment I was going to get my former appeared
2:25 and I was looking to seem like i'm looking now well-dressed
2:28 welcomed but this gentleman who was sitting there
2:32 he said honey I got to go my cab is here
2:35 many people would have had that experience and felt
2:39 anger or hatred and get you took it and turned it into something different I was
2:44 upset
2:45 but I said it's not his fault its our fault our community fault dead
2:50 I decided that I got to do something even if it cost me
2:53 too much money I'm going to do that in order to bring my community
2:58 and the Sikhs to the main street have the superfan
3:02 was one
3:06 on a mission to end a stereotype now decides to start
3:09 filling stadiums see with seeks you will see hundreds of governments
3:13 sitting here enjoined yes we do look different
3:17 we are different but other pension for the basketball
3:22 his as much as anybody else and weekend
3:26 relate to each other to that game of basketball
3:29 he's been doing that for almost two decades now Adam L regis costs I spent
3:34 over two hundred thousand dollars
3:36 a yearly a year and in the last
3:39 twenty years you can't do that relations is now incredibly successful Canadian
3:44 you have clocks from Prime Minister
3:48 campaign policeman's is so much more than just a rafter superfan he is the
3:53 embodiment
3:54 at the Canadian jury but I'm blessed
3:58 be in the best group my head
4:02 you if there is a heaven on the side this is
4:06 died
4:08 itself
4:10 an old
4:12 let's go talent moms excuse me my cab is here
4:17 I with the babies on the word is that you know I was talking to you about this
4:21 afternoon what is all that hatred and anger come from what's wrong with people
4:25 out there
4:25 you see it on the internet way people comment on stories are
4:29 or advance how angry people or I think imagine
4:32 I think the amazing thing about I don't think that he thought that this person
4:35 was trying to slide him or be racist I think it was a misunderstanding
4:39 and I don't love the fact that nap talks about taking responsibility morning to
4:43 say you know what did for the holding on to the anger that he could be could
4:46 right to sleep
4:47 yelled people quitting because they didn't want to work for a man who was in
4:50 the end I mean
4:51 are sick man be kinda have to agree with something that he said though is that he
4:55 said it's our fault not necessarily agree that it's our fault but
4:58 to a lot of the immigrant communities have a tendency to
5:02 I isolate themselves from the general society
5:06 and that's where he spent three hundred thousand dollar everything go here
5:09 million to doctor I kinda turbines in the fee in the in the man's
5:12 and he's that you know the man is just an amazing amazing man yeah
5:15 I would love to hear from you about tonight inside story any other story
5:19 that you may have I am at for the a free
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