Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors was shoved by a Golden State Warriors fan after falling out of bounds in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Now, it has come to light that the “fan” is actually a part owner of the team.
Golden State Warriors Part Owner Shoves Kyle Lowry
Lowry went flying into the stands rushing to get a loose ball early in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. While getting up, a fan on his left side gave him a shove. It was reported Thursday morning that the fan that shoved Lowry was actually part-owner of the Warriors, Mark Stevens.
“The fans have a place. We love our fans. But fans like that shouldn’t be allowed to be in there. It’s not right. I can’t do nothing to protect myself,” Lowry told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the contest. “The league does a good job, and hopefully they ban him from all NBA games forever.”
Stevens was ejected from the contest and, according to Shams Charania, will not attend any of the remaining NBA Finals games.
According to the initial report by Axios, both the Warriors and the NBA are investigating the incident. Stevens joined the Warriors’ ownership group in 2013 when a former Warriors owner bought a stake in the Sacramento Kings.
Lowry did at least get the last laugh, as his Toronto Raptors toppled the Warriors 123-109, despite Stephen Curry’s 47-point explosion.
Lowry had one of the best playoff games of his career during his first Finals visit to Oracle Arena. The veteran point guard scored 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting, drilling five triples in the process. He also racked up 9 assists and 4 rebounds in the victory.
UPDATES
The Golden State Warriors and the NBPA issued the following statements on the incident. Stevens was subsequently banned from all NBA games for a year and fined $500,000.
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
Here is the NBAPA Statement on Warriors Co-Owner pushing Kyle Lowry pic.twitter.com/Hq1hYI0MhT
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) June 6, 2019
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:’jkVNrW8eQyp07PKO-5qp3A’,sig:’8xku_JBo_3E3f1u2K4pEnxjQqZBWBN0NwMeViioBj2Y=’,w:’594px’,h:’406px’,items:’861121544′,caption: true ,tld:’com’,is360: false })});
