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NBA officials on Thursday banned a minority Golden State Warrior owner after the video showed him pushing a player aside during the match.
Mark Stevens, a venture capitalist, was sitting on the edge of the field in the third game of the NBA Finals in Oakland on Wednesday, when Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry plunged backstage to keep the ball out. field boundaries.
He was struggling to regain his balance when the video showed that Stevens had pushed him to the left shoulder. Stevens was fined $ 500,000 and banned from attending matches and activities of the Warriors for a year, NBA officials and Warrior teams said on Wednesday.
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Stevens was also charged with "directing obscene language toward" Lowry, according to the statement.
Lowry, who has been in the league for almost 15 years, said Stevens had sent him a vulgar comment "several times".
Speaking to reporters at a post-game briefing, Lowry said it was difficult for him to keep his cool during the fallout, but thinking of his two young children helped her to stay calm.
"There was no reason to touch me. He had no reason to grab more than two seats and speak to me vulgarly, "said Lowry after the match, which resulted in a 123 to 109 Raptors victory over the Warriors to take a 2-1 lead in the best of seven games.
"There is no room for people like this in our league and hopefully he will never come back to an NBA game," he added.
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Members of the Golden State Warriors, including coach Steve Kerr and star goalie Steph Curry, have also expressed outrage at the NBA's decision to ban Stevens for a year.
The Los Angeles Lakers star, LeBron James, shared a video of the incident on Instagram, calling for a "quick action" league.
"There is absolutely no room in our beautiful game for that, there are so many problems here," he said. "When you sit on the court, you absolutely know what comes with staying on the floor and if you do not know, the ticket indicates the guidelines."
He said NBA officials should do their utmost to protect players in positions like this, pointing out that the situation could have escalated if Lowry had decided to take revenge.
"Think about yourself, and if @ kyle_lowry7 reacted and put his hand on it, you'd go crazy, guys," James said. "He knew the rules more than just the person sitting watching the game on the court, so that something would be done as soon as possible."
Curry said he did not attend the exchange in real time, but the video of the incident clearly showed that Stevens was out of place.
"When we see the video, it is pretty clear who was in error," Curry told reporters after the match. "I just award credit to Kyle, it could have been a lot worse in terms of the altercation that should not have happened at the beginning." It's a little Kyle that protects himself, but does it in a graceful manner, that's for sure. "
"It's not my jurisdiction, but I'll personally apologize to Kyle and the Raptors, which is unacceptable," Kerr added.
Tony Avelar / AP
Stevens issued a public apology soon after the NBA announced its decision on Thursday night and attributed the incident to a "misconduct".
"What I did was wrong and there is no excuse for that," he said in a statement released Thursday after the announcement made by the NBA. "I hope that Mr. Lowry and others affected by this misjudgment will understand that the behavior that I demonstrated last night does not reflect the person I am or have been throughout my life. "
He said he contacted Lowry and the Toronto Raptors to apologize directly. "I'm grateful to those who accepted my calls," said Stevens. I made a mistake and I am really sorry. I need to be better and I can not wait to get it right. "
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