UPDATED 5/9, 5:50 p.m. ET: The Dallas Mavericks released a statement detailing what happened during Sunday’s game. per the statement, which was shared by Shams Charania, two fans gave “unwanted hugs” to Paul’s family. They’ll be banned from American Airlines Center until 2023.
See original story below.
Chris Paul was livid after Game 4 of the Suns’ series against the Mavericks, after a fan allegedly “put hands” on members of his family.
“Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families….fuck that!!,” Paul tweeted.
Shortly after Paul’s tweet, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Paul’s mother “had hands put on her” by Mavericks fans, and his wife was also pushed. His witnessed the incident, and his family “felt very unsafe” over what had occurred, per McMenamin.
Video from the incident shows Paul clearly telling someone that “he put his hands on my mom.”
Someone was able to capture the moment when the fan in question was asked to leave by security.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the Mavericks released a statement indicating that the individual involved in the incident was escorted out of the arena. “The Dallas Mavericks are aware of an incident between a fan and the family of Chris Paul. It was unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated,” the statement reads. “The Mavericks, along with American Airlines Center, swiftly removed the fan from today’s game.”
This is the latest in what has been an ongoing trend of fans feeling empowered to say or do whatever they want to NBA players and their families without fear of repercussions. Russell Westbrook’s wife Nina recently posted a series of tweets claiming she has been harassed and subjected to death threats from people upset over the play of her husband. Westbrook himself was recently seen getting into it with an unidentified man from Toronto who criticized him.
Back in March, Jusuf Nurkić was caught on video getting into a fan’s face and tossing their phone into the crowd. It was later reported that the person told Nurkić “your mom is trash” among other obscenities.
