FILE PHOTO: Jan 12, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley (21) reacts to a call during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Mavericks have banned a fan for the rest of the season after an investigation showed he behaved inappropriately toward guard Patrick Beverley of the Los Angeles Clippers, according to a report.
Beverley had complained about the fan on Dec. 2, when the Clippers played at American Airlines Center in Dallas. He was ejected with 9:10 left in the game after he threw a bounce pass at the man, whom ESPN identified as Don Knobler.
Knobler long has been a fixture in his courtside seat at Mavericks games but reportedly hasn’t attended a game since that day. Fans said he has heckled other players, too, ESPN reported.
Beverley said the man addressed profanities at him and talked about his mother, prompting him to toss the ball at him. Beverley was fined $25,000 by the NBA as a result.
“I told the referee, I told the security,” Beverley told reporters after the game. “I mean, I’ve never gotten ejected out of a game since I’ve been in the NBA. You know, I play hard, I play within the lines, of course. I play within the rules, of course. I’ve never been ejected in my career in the NBA, but I’m a grown man. I have morals. Of course, God is first, family is second for me, and I stand firmly behind that.
“I just, I can accept the ‘F—- you, Beverley,’ the ‘F—- you, Pat,’ but out of the lines of my mother, anybody who knows me, man, knows I’m a family-first guy, and there’s some things that are unacceptable. After I told the refs, I told security, the Dallas security, told both of them and again, he said it again. So if no one is going to control fans, what are we supposed to do as players?”
—Field Level Media