Here’s the fan that gave Kyle Lowry a bit of a push that had Lowry frustrated pic.twitter.com/A41HCGdMAY
— Board Man Gets Paid (@cjzero) June 6, 2019
A strange story just got a bit stranger.
A fan sitting court-side was kicked out of Oracle Arena Thursday night, after he appeared to swipe at Kyle Lowry, when the Raptors guard crashed into the stands to save a loose ball. Lowry was visibly upset after the incident, and said postgame that he believed the fan should be banned from attending NBA games for life.
Kyle Lowry on his interaction with a courtside fan: “There’s no place for that. He had no reason to touch me… Hopefully he never comes back to an NBA game.” pic.twitter.com/E6Qk9IhUZV
— KNBR (@KNBR) June 6, 2019
It turns out that fan is Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens, as originally reported by Axios. The Warriors confirmed the report, announcing that Stevens will not be allowed to attend any subsequent Finals games. If that is the extent of his suspension, he will miss a maximum of two games depending on the length of the series.
“Mr. Stevens’ behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization,” the Warriors 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.”
Stevens is a venture capitalist who joined the ownership team 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,” Warriors executive chairman Peter Guber said at the time via Axios. “We’ve managed to build a strong and well-rounded ownership group in which each individual contributes to our success, and Mark is no exception. He’s an ideal fit.”
The Warriors say that an investigation is still ongoing.
The NBA has also suspended Stevens from all NBA games.
The NBA’s statement on Mark Stevens: pic.twitter.com/bbjWygv0O2
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 6, 2019