Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry hoped that the fan who shoved him during Game 3 of the NBA Finals Wednesday "never comes back to an NBA game."
He's going to get his wish, at least for the foreseeable future.
The fan who mixed it up with Lowry along the sideline is Mark Stevens, a part-owner of the Warriors. The NBA and the Warriors announced Thursday that Stevens has been banned from attending any NBA games, or Warriors team activities, for one year and fined $500,000 for his role in the incident. Stevens' ban is effective immediately and will carry through the end of the postseason next year.
The joint announcement came hours after the Warriors said Stevens would not be in attendance for any more NBA Finals games this year.
"Mr. Stevens' behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization," the team said in a statement. "We're extremely disappointed in his actions and, along with Mr. Stevens, offer our sincere apology to Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors organization for this unfortunate misconduct. There is no place for such interaction between fans _ or anyone _ and players at an NBA game.
"Mr. Stevens will not be in attendance at any of the remaining games of the 2019 NBA Finals.
"Review of this matter is ongoing."
In addition, the NBA also issued a statement Thursday morning:
"A team representative must be held to the highest possible standard and the conduct of Golden State Warriors investor Mark Stevens last night was beyond unacceptable and has no place in our league. As the review of this matter continues, Mr. Stevens will not be permitted to attend NBA games."
The altercation occurred early in the fourth quarter as Lowry chased a loose ball. He collided into fans sitting courtside. Lowry said Stevens shoved him.
Lowry was still steaming after the game.
"There's no place for that," he told reporters. "He had no reason to touch me. He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me. There's no place for people like that in our league. Hopefully he never comes back to an NBA game."
LeBron James, posting on Instagram, had some harsh words for Stevens, saying there is "absolutely no place in our BEAUTIFUL game for that AT ALL."
"When you sit courtside you absolutely know what comes with being on the floor and if you don't know it's on the back on the ticket itself that states the guidelines," James wrote. "But he himself being a fan but more importantly PART-OWNER of the Warriors knew exactly what he was doing which was so uncalled for. He knew the rules more than just the average person sitting watching the game courtside so for that Something needs to be done ASAP! A swift action for his actions."
James was made aware of the Warriors statement, but said it "still ain't enough."
Richard Jefferson, who played two of his 17 NBA seasons with the Warriors, supported Lowry.
"The man's push could've affected the outcome of the NBA Finals," Jefferson said Thursday morning on ESPN's "Get Up."
"If ... a fan that was sitting on the front row decides to just push a player for no reason, ... the person has to be gone forever."
Stevens, a venture capitalist, was ejected from the arena, ESPN reported. The team touted him when he joined the ownership group in 2013.
"Mark will prove to be a tremendous asset to our organization as we strive to become one of the model franchises in professional sports," team chairman Peter Guber said at the time.
Coincidently, the subject of fans interacting with coaches and players has come under recent scrutiny by the NBA. Rapper Drake, an ardent Raptors fan, has been omnipresent during the postseason, once giving Raptors coach Nick Nurse a brief shoulder massage during play. He also engaged with several Warriors players after Games 1 and 2 in Toronto.
