The court side fan who shoved Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry during the fourth quarter of Game 3 has reportedly been identified as Golden State Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens, according to Axios. Following last night's game Lowry said he was hoping the fan would be banned for life.
The Warriors released the following statement on Thursday, explaining that Stevens will not be attending any remaining NBA Finals games.
Mr. Stevens’ behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization. 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.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1136656321208496130
https://twitter.com/_/status/1136672131930923014
The incident occurred early in the fourth quarter, when Lowry launched into the crowd in an effort to save the ball from going out of bounds. As seen in the footage embedded below, the fan ID'd as Mark Stevens gave Lowry a shove.
The Raptors point guard later explained that Stevens, who was later ejected, repeatedly cursed at him as well.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1136474746848256000
Following Toronto's 123-109 victory, Lowry told reporters:
"There's no place for that,'' Lowry said. "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."
"People who sit courtside, they might get in on the action," Lowry said. "Don't sit courtside if you don't want somebody touching you."
During a post-game interview with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, Lowry added:
"The fans have a place; we love our fans," Lowry told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt. "But fans like that shouldn't be allowed to be in there, because it's not right. I can't do nothing to protect myself.
"But the league does a good job, and hopefully they ban him from all NBA games forever."
https://twitter.com/_/status/1136499979286196225
