Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley has been suspended four games without pay for forcefully throwing a basketball multiple times at spectators and an inappropriate interaction with a reporter, the NBA announced Thursday.
Beverley’s actions took place during and after the Bucks’ 120-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first-round series last Thursday. That loss eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs.
Beverley, 35, is now a free agent.
In the final minutes of last Thursday’s game, a fan reportedly was heckling players from behind the Milwaukee bench. Beverley threw a basketball at the fan, however he missed and hit a woman in the head.
That’s when another fan picked up the ball and tossed it to Beverley, who aggressively threw it back. Beverley appeared to exchange words with the fan, with teammate Jae Crowder attempting to calm him down.
On an episode of his podcast, “The Pat Bev Podcast,” Beverley expressed remorse for his actions.
“I will be better,” Beverley said during the episode, which was released Wednesday. “I have to be better, and I will be better. That should have never happened. Regardless of what was said, that should have never happened. Simple as that.”
But it was that very podcast that caused even more controversy following last Thursday’s game. Beverley refused to field a question from ESPN’s Malinda Adams since she wasn’t a subscriber.
“You subscribe to my pod?” Beverley asked Adams. “You can’t interview me then, no disrespect.”
Beverley apologized for that one, too, saying he told Adams that “it was never my intent to disrespect you.”
Beverley averaged 6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 73 games (13 starts) split between the Philadelphia 76ers and Bucks this season. He has contributed 8.3 points, 4.1 boards and 3.4 assists in 666 career games (518 starts) with seven different NBA teams.