Golden State Warriors minority investor Mark Stevens, a member of the team’s executive board, was banned from attending NBA games for one year and fined $500,000 after he pushed Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry from a courtside seat in Game 3.
It appears to be Stevens’ ultimate punishment after a hectic day of reports. The Warriors released a statement Thursday morning identifying Stevens and condemning his actions, and the NBA put out its own statement initially announcing that Stevens would be prohibited from attending games while it investigated the situation.
“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,” the NBA said. “As the review of this matter continues, Mr. Stevens will not be permitted to attend NBA games.”
During the fourth quarter in the Raptors’ win at Golden State Wednesday, Lowry dove for the ball and fell into a row of courtside seats. A few observers touched Lowry as he recovered and got up, but Stevens shoved Lowry in the shoulder.
Stevens was ejected from the game. At the time of the incident, Stevens’ identity and role with the Warriors was not known to the public.
“Mr. Stevens’ behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization,” the Warriors’ statement 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.”
The NBA’s statement on Mark Stevens: pic.twitter.com/bbjWygv0O2
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 6, 2019
The man who shoved Kyle Lowry hard in the shoulder after Lowry fell into the stands last night? Mark Stevens, one of the Warriors’ minority owners. Here’s Golden State’s statement on the incident - the team says Stevens won’t be at any more Finals games this year. pic.twitter.com/eUHNKn3Yp7
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 6, 2019
Lowry said after the game that he hoped the offender would be banned for life.
“He had no reason to touch me,” Lowry said. “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. Hopefully, he never comes back to an NBA game.”
Lakers star LeBron James gave his input on Instagram Thursday afternoon.
“There’s so many issues here. When you sit courtside you absolutely know what comes with being on the floor and if you don’t know it’s on the back on the ticket itself that states the guidelines,” James wrote. “But he himself being a fan but more importantly PART-OWNER of the Warriors knew exactly what he was doing which was so uncalled for.
“He knew the rules more than just the average person sitting watching the game courtside so for that Something needs to be done ASAP! A swift action for his actions.”
James, who tagged his post with the hashtag #PrivilegeAintWelcomeHere, said fans would be calling for Lowry to be thrown in jail if he laid his hands on Stevens.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Jun 6, 2019 at 9:42am PDT
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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