After falling into some fans courtside during Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors, Kyle Lowry was pushed by a Warriors fan. The incident was quite shocking with Lowry going on to say that "there is no place for that." Since then, it has been revealed that the fan in question was Warriors part-owner Mark Stevens who was promptly banned from attending any more Finals games.
LeBron James was watching the game on TV and was appalled by what he saw. Earlier today, James hopped on Instagram to speak out against the fan and thought about what would have happened had Lowry decided to push back at the fan.
"There’s absolutely no place in our BEAUTIFUL game for that AT ALL. 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. 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. [...] Just think to yourself, what if @kyle_lowry7 would have reacted and put his hands back on him. You guys would be going CRAZY!! Calling for him to damn near be put in jail let alone being suspended for the rest of the Finals all because he was protected himself. I’ve been quite throughout the whole NBA playoffs watching every game (haven’t missed one) but after I saw what I saw last night, took time to let it manifest into my thinking 🧢 I couldn’t and wouldn’t be quiet on this!"
As the playoffs continue on, it's clear that the NBA will be looking to ramp up their security courtside as these types of incidents are unacceptable. While some may complain about Drake's antics, at least he's not putting his hands on opposing players.