Another day brought another worrying incident involving fans at NBA playoff games.
A man ran onto the court with about four minutes remaining in the third quarter of the Washington Wizards' 122-114 win against the Philadelphia 76ers in D.C. on Monday.
The man jumped and attempted to touch the backboard while players from both teams came down court from the opposite end before a security officer at Capital One Arena tackled him as referees stopped play.
Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Wizards and the arena, said the fan would be banned from future events and the organisation would pursue charges against him with D.C. police.
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"Monumental Sports & Entertainment has a zero tolerance policy when fans violate our code of conduct at Capital One Arena," the company said.
The incident came a day after a fan in Boston threw a water bottle at Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, leading the veteran to deplore players being treated as if they are "in a human zoo."
That followed episodes in which Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was showered in popcorn during a defeat away to Philadelphia in Game 2, while a New York Knicks fan spat on Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young in Game 1.
"Fans got to grow up at some point," Nets star Kevin Durant said Sunday. "I know that being in the house for a year and a half with the pandemic got a lot of people on edge, got a lot of people stressed out, but when you come to these games, you have to realise these men are human.
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"We are not animals; we are not in the circus. You coming to the game is not all about you as a fan. So, have some respect for the game. Have some respect for the human beings, and have some respect for yourself.
