Warriors part-owner banned for one year after shoving Raptors' Kyle Lowry
The NBA has banned Golden State Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens for one season in addition to fining him $500,000 after shoving and repeatedly cursing at Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry while seated courtside for Game 3 of the NBA finals.
Stevens, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who joined the Warriors ownership team in 2013, was caught on camera pushing Lowry during the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s game when he crashed into a row of seats while trying to save a ball from going out of bounds.
The ban is effective immediately and will run through the 2019-20 season and postseason, the league said on Thursday.
The Warriors confirmed Stevens’ identity in a statement earlier Thursday, saying they were “extremely disappointed” in his actions.
“Mr Stevens’ behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization,” the team said. “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.”
Axios was first to report the identity of the fan in question.
Stevens, a former Sequoia Capital managing partner, will not be attending any of the remaining games of this year’s NBA finals as a review of the matter is ongoing, the Warriors said.
Lowry scored 23 points and made several big shots in a 123-109 victory that gave the Raptors a 2-1 lead over Golden State. There was as much buzz about Lowry’s dust-up with Stevens as his offense.
The five-time NBA All-Star was visibly upset.
“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.”
Early in the fourth quarter Lowry ran down a loose ball and jumped in the air as it was going out of bounds, not far from where Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob was sitting. Lowry knocked the ball into a referee and landed in the lap of one male fan who appeared to grab Lowry’s jersey with two hands.
A woman who was standing nearby patted the veteran guard on his back. At the same time, a man wearing a blue shirt who was sitting down, later identified as Stevens, extended his left arm and gave Lowry a hard shove in his left shoulder.
Lowry got up and complained to officials, although nothing further happened. He told the Associated Press the fan repeatedly cursed at him and said he had spoken to the NBA about the incident before leaving the arena.
Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder and security officials confirmed the fan who shoved Lowry was ejected and escorted from Oracle Arena.
“Hopefully he never comes back to an NBA game,” Lowry said.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who is taking in the NBA finals as a spectator and not a participant for the first time in nine years, said Thursday that Stevens “knew exactly what he was doing” and that a partowner “(knows) the rules more than just the average person sitting watching the game courtside”.
“When you sit courtside you absolutely know what comes with being on the floor,” James said in an Instagram post.
Both the NBA and National Basketball Players Association weighed in with statements on Thursday.
“A team representative must be held to the highest possible standard and the conduct of Golden State Warriors investor Mark Stevens last night was beyond unacceptable and has no place in our league,” said Mike Bass, the league’s executive vice president of communications. “As the review of this matter continues, Mr Stevens will not be permitted to attend NBA games.”
A spokesperson for the players’ union said they are “closely monitoring both the Warriors’ and the league’s continued investigation into this matter and anxiously await their conclusions and response.”
It added: “The NBPA has previously expressed its support of a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy with respect to verbal and/or physical assaults perpetrated against players. Stevens’ status as a member of the ownership group does not alter that view.”
Lowry said the incident was not like the high-profile one that involved Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook in Utah during the regular season, when the Thunder guard said a fan made racist remarks.
“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.”
The incident overshadowed a breakout game for Lowry. He scored 15 points in the first half to get the Raptors going and finished 8 of 16 from the floor with five three-pointers. Lowry also had nine assists and four rebounds.
“He controls a lot of the pace for them,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who had a career playoff-high 47 points. “He made shots tonight. Tip your cap to him. He was willing to take them. Historically when he plays well in the playoffs they usually go.”