Johnson: Girlfriend had fan incident in Finals
Cam Johnson understands how Chris Paul felt about his family being harassed at Sunday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals in Dallas.
The Phoenix Suns forward said his girlfriend was hit the back of the head and had beer spilled on her during Game 3 of last year’s NBA Finals at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
“It was kind of a big scene and it really frustrated me,” Johnson said. “With Chris, he kind of like saw it in the moment, but when it happened last season, I didn’t hear about it until after the game and I was really mad.”
Paul’s mom and wife were harassed in the fourth quarter of Game 4, which Dallas won to even the series. The Mavericks and American Airlines Center concluded an investigation of the incident that has led to two fans being banned from the arena until next year, according to a statement.
“American Airlines Center and Dallas Mavericks security and executives have concluded the investigation into the incident involving the Paul family. Two unruly fans attempted to give unwanted hugs and have conversations with members of the Paul family on the public concourse of American Airlines Center. AAC security responded immediately once notified by the family and the fans were swiftly ejected from the game. The fans involved in the incident will not be allowed to return to the arena until 2023,” the release said.
Johnson said his dad, Gilbert, handled the situation last year and that the fan was removed and banned, but he can totally relate to Paul being upset.
The Suns point guard had words for one of the fans being removed from the game Sunday and later expressed his anger on Twitter.
“It’s so wrong on so many levels,” Johnson said. “It’s just harassment, it’s all those things. I feel for him and his family and you just wish there was more you could do. Without saying too much, you wish you could kind of pause everything else that’s going on and handle the situation.”
TNT NBA analyst Kenny Smith said Chris Paul’s mom called and explained to him what happened in Dallas.
“She was very adamant about what happened,” said Smith during Monday’s night TNT telecast. “She was like, ‘No Kenny, the guy was inebriated, and he was trying to be funny by continually tapping me and saying, Happy Mother’s Day.’ And she said, ‘Thank you, but don’t touch me.’ And he continued to do that and in between would scream out and say obscenities about the Suns. ‘F’ the Suns, F the Suns’ and continually tap her. That’s when it escalated.”
Smith said Paul’s mom told him Paul’s wife went to security and the nearby bar in the arena and asked them to stop serving the fan because the fan was intoxicated.
“It kept escalating more, he kept cussing,” Smith added.
While Paul didn’t do media interviews after Monday’s practice, Suns coach Monty Williams did and addressed the situation. Williams initially thought a fan was heckling their bench during the timeout in the fourth quarter, but he was focused on the game.
Then Williams said he “got bits and pieces” of the story and found out more information after the game.
“It’s a hard one because it’s happening more and more and the situations are getting to a place now where I really feel like families who are in the arena to support their loved ones need to be protected a bit more,” Williams said. “Whether or not we have to give these people, our families members a section or a suite, something has to be done because we can’t wait for it to get to a level or higher for the league to do what we need to do.”
Williams called Sunday’s incident “unnecessary,” but “not indicative of fans” he’s “dealt with” in Dallas.
“The stuff that you hear in-game is below board at times, but we’ve learned how to play and coach above it, but when you start to put your hands on somebody’s family member, that’s a different deal,” Williams said. “So I understood Chris’ frustration after the fact. You just wish these things didn’t happen, but I do believe we could do more to protect families so that they can come to the game and support their loved ones.”
Williams expects the Mavs to have a better grip on security around family members of Suns attending Thursday’s Game 6 in Dallas.
“They’ll take the precautions necessary to make sure everybody is safe so they can enjoy the game,” Williams said. “As a player and a coach, when I’m on the road and my family is coming to see me, I am concerned at times, but not because I think somebody is going to put their hands on them. I’m just concerned about what they may hear. That’s just part of the deal. We all know that, but when you start to put your hands on people, especially women. Come on man. A guy can handle himself in a crowd, but when you start to put your hands on women, that’s a different deal.”
Speaking to Williams’ point about visiting family members having their own suite or section, Johnson said he heard they were spread out on the road during last year’s finals.
Paul’s family was sitting near the Suns bench on Mother’s Day as his parents, wife and children were in attendance Sunday
“I think when they’re kind of closer together it’s kind of safer for them,” Johnson said.
However, Johnson said fans should behave accordingly as well.
“They just can’t act that way,” Johnson said. “There’s no other way around it. I think you’ve got to address the problem, which is the real problem is a fan can’t just go up to somebody’s mother and harass them.”