11:54am: The Knicks announced today that they’ve identified the fan who spat on Young during Wednesday’s game and banned him from Madison Square Garden indefinitely.
“This was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our venue,” the Knicks said in their statement. “We have turned the information over to the appropriate authorities.”
11:08am: In the wake of multiple incidents involving players and fans during the first week of the playoffs, the NBA issued a press release today in which the league vowed to more strongly enforce its guidelines for fan conduct in arenas.
“The return of more NBA fans to our arenas has brought excitement and energy to the start of the playoffs, but it is critical that we all show respect for players, officials and our fellow fans,” the NBA said in its statement. “An enhanced fan code of conduct will be vigorously enforced in order to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all involved.”
The press release also linked to the NBA’s Fan Code of Conduct, which can be found here.
As we detailed in an earlier story, Wizards guard Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him by a fan in Philadelphia as he was limping to the locker room with an ankle injury. The Sixers have revoked that fan’s season ticket membership and banned him indefinitely from attending events at Wells Fargo Center.
Additionally, a Knick fan appeared to spit on Hawks guard Trae Young during Wednesday’s game (link via Bleacher Report), and Jason Quick of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that multiple Trail Blazers players took issue with some Nuggets fans as the team was leaving the court in Game 2. Westbrook and Lakers forward LeBron James were among the stars who called for the NBA on Wednesday to more effectively protect its players.
For much of the season, the league hasn’t really had to deal with policing fan behavior at its games, since attendance has been extremely limited in most arenas across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, with restrictions loosening and many teams now hosting 10,000+ fans in their buildings, it has once again become a concern.
Doesn’t seem like the NBA vigorously enforced anything. Punishment for Philly trash appears to be handed down by the team/venue operations.
Bring this guy up on charges, send a message. Next time it will be a weapon. My opinion take it or leave it.
I think the popcorn thing shouldn’t have happened but I also see it in a completely different realm than spitting on someone, you can’t let fans spit on players that’s bush league, they shouldn’t throw popcorn either…but it’s also popcorn
Doesn’t matter if it’s popcorn. You shouldn’t throw stuff at people. Can’t believe I have to type that haha
Agreed holy eff, throw nothing.
How many people are seriously injured in popcorn related incidents every year? Maybe thousands. Bruised egos mostly for those with a delicate psyche such as Westbrick’s.
The issue isn’t whether you can be injured by a popcorn projectile. Or do you think fans should be able to throw anything (cups, liquids, candy, feces, etc.) at players as long as it is not likely to cause injury?
@wallywood, I know you’re just trolling, but that is a dumb thing to say.
Ban anyone for life who fistfights at a sporting event would be a great start. Gutter behavior. Stop selling booze at games too.
Disagree with your proposal to stop selling booze. Just because .10% of fans can’t handle it, that doesn’t mean we all shouldn’t have the option to buy it.
Yeah, I can get pretty hammered and not throw stuff at people.
Cost more than the ticket these days….
Stop selling booze? Noooooooooo!
Cupcake assaulted by popcorn. This guy has displayed serious mental health issues over his career and the league should vigorously look to get him help. If he didn’t react it wouldn’t have been repeated on tv so he’s only encouraging the next idiot to do it.
I’m sure if I went to your job and threw popcorn at you, you would also react probably moreso then Westbrook.
I’d give you a balloon so you could do some real damage
You’d cry, because you wouldn’t be able to hide behind your keybaord.
Man for $42M a year I would let anyone in my office dump hot popcorn on me
Kinky.
Nobody will ever offer that. Even if m’mm had to clean it up.
Just making a point, Westbrook should just retire if he’s that concerned
He’s a person, not an elephant. How about blame the classless fan than the player.
Then there was the other incident back in Utah when he was still with OKC. Russ threatened a fan and his wife with physical violence after he misunderstood whatever the guy yelled at him. Westbrook has some serious anger issues, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he ends up like OJ some day.
Wallywood just hates Westbrook. For him, that takes precedence over all other considerations about a civilized society.
Who likes Westbrook?
I’m not the biggest Westbrook fan by any means, but that doesn’t make it okay just because it happened to him. He’s still a human being, deuce. There is no instance you can just throw something at someone you don’t know and it’s cool. No. And how do you not react when something unexpectedly gets throw at you?
Dueceball would just let anyone walk up to him and dump things on his head. Because he is a real man.
I’m sorry but where I’m from throwing popcorn at someone was just playful banter before making out in a dorm, I had no idea that girl was making a declaration of war with a weapon of mass destruction. I apologize and consider me woke.
Ok, now that you told me you threw popcorn at a girl before you made out with her in college I understand your viewpoint. I mean, it’s exactly the same thing as dumping a box of popcorn on a stranger’s head.
“Banter” means to speak wittily, not throw popcorn. I imagine you didn’t make out in a dorm all that often.
Westbrook seems to be a magnet for such fan behavior. If the fans continue to harass him, maybe the problem lies elsewhere?
And heaven forbid if the poor cupcake Kylie gets yelled at in Boston. It’d probably take him 2 weeks off to get over it.
All top players, not just Westbrook, are targets of fan verbal abuse/trash talk. If you’ve ever sat in the lower sections of an NBA arena you would know that. The idiot in Philly took it to the level of throwing trash instead of just trash talking.
I might going out on a limb here by assuming that Russell Westbrook wasn’t the first professional athlete to have popcorn thrown at him during a game. In fact I’m guessing it has happened hundreds, probably thousands of times before. But since these guys are “professionals” the overwhelming majority of them act like one.
Those who don’t act in a professional manner, such as Russ, will make a mountain out of a molehill. He needs to seriously grow up.
Kyrie is one of the most narcissist players ever. i hope he gets booed hard. guy would be seen as a nutjob if not for basketball
For a lot of us, the guy is seen as a nutjob even with basketball. It also really makes me question the value of a Duke “education.”
He was there for 8 months….he didn’t get any education
I learned quite a bit in my first 8 months in college. You don’t get all of your knowledge just in the last month of a four year education. In a quality university like Duke, you should get even more in that 8 months.
Hot take!
Why? They don’t enforce Covid rules for all players; double standards for players and fans.
Lol I sat courtside when Okafor was on the Sixers and just got in trouble for punching a guy at a club in Boston and was heckling him not to throw any punches on the court. Is that still gonna be okay or did these gross morons just ruin trash talking for everyone?
Honestly, I’d be fine if they got rid of it. You’re a fan, not a player. Why are you trash talking lol?
I think trash talking is fine for fans so long as you don’t cross certain lines. Keep it to basketball, tell a guy his game is trash… whatever… Just don’t make it overly personal with non-basketball related things.
Soft take, heckling the opposing team is literally a classic American sports past time… ever heard of “swing batta batta swing!”? Like other guy said as long as you’re not being obscene who cares?
Nobody sits in front of hecklers at HS games. When you rent your seat you’re stuck with whoever is behind you.
Except for all those California fans here apparently. I swear I take a ridiculous amount of abuse from them when they complain about all the harmless trash-talking that goes on here. I remember going to a Mets game at Shea back in the mid-80’s, and the friend I was with relentlessly harassed George Foster in LF. Like a professional, he completely ignored my friend the entire game. And all the fans were throwing peanuts in the shell at each other out in the bleachers. Did we cry about like Russell Westbrook would have? Of course not.
Irrelevant, and so is the supposed danger of Westbrook.
Nobody should be throwing anything onto the court, it’s a danger to the players officials coaches media and other fans.
I also think these facilities should more rigorously and equally enforce their codes of conduct to account for family friendly language. I know kids aren’t the target consumer for these games, they can’t buy Budweiser and they don’t but tickets, but I’ve heard some of the most foul language from fans (and players) in these games so I don’t want to bring my kids, so I go less than I would, although I don’t go at all now.
I guess this is more aimed towards the NFL experience but yeah, fans suck. I remember when Navarro bowman shredded his knee in a game and he was carted off the field and was showered w beer and other things. He didn’t cry like Russ is though.
The dangers of popcorn, right. What if this had been someone who just leaned over and accidentally spilled popcorn on Westbrook. I guarantee he would have acted exactly the same and would have needed half a dozen security guards to hold him back to protect the fan’s life. He’s the danger.
The NBA doesn’t enforce their own health and safety protocols as evidenced by LeFlop getting a free pass. There are a few teams in this league that can’t sell out their arena. Banning someone for life over popcorn is excessive, but spitting shouldn’t be tolerated.
Agree that Silver hurt his cause with the LJ call, as it hurts his authority/fairness/integrity.
But the popcorn thrower should be introduced to other hobbies… He fails as a fan.
the nerve of fans in this town to not only physically attack a player because he is a rival, but do it after claiming he’s not a good player. listen to WIP. everyone thinks (unfairly) that Westbrook is a stat-padder. yet in spite of this you consider them important enough to attack. weak and dumb as hell.
Good of HR to put “vigorously” in quotemarks. The NBA spokesperson may have said that, covering up like spokespersons are paid to do… But indefinite suspensions do not reach the level of vigorous. The spitter could un-suspended at any time or just forgotten about.
I doubt the NBA follows with legal action against the spitter, despite their concerns with covid. NYers probably just call that homecourt advantage.
More news could upgrade this.
I guess the popcorn angle adds humor, but it’s not about estimating whether a person can handle something.
A real man, especially one who makes $41M/year, would have the maturity to shrug it off if someone threw a few handfuls of popcorn at them. But a person like Russell Westbrook, who obviously has serious insecurity issues, acts like a child and completely loses control of himself bursting into an outrage. This was embarrassing.
A real man would see the problem in fans deciding who something should be thrown at, then doing so. How about people who named themselves after a player, then got jolted by the player leaving. Even if he is unpleasantly overwound & weird.
Public figure but don’t critique me. the fans pay for teams salaries and they tell the owners who, what, where. no wonder must don’t watch Olympic Games when pro’s represent status not like an amateur up and coming next future athletes that we will not follow because a greedy ignorant pride pro took their place.
no one should be allowed to trow anything fist, bat, hammer, container but the talk behind the scenes is no more dangerous than that manipulated by the media. seems like being arrested is the thing to do and be popular.