Kyrie Irving.Photo: NBAE/Getty
A Boston Celtics fan has been arrested after allegedly throwing a plastic water bottle at Brooklyn Nets starKyrie Irvingduring Sunday’s game at TD Garden.
The incident was caught on camera and shared to social media.
A spokesperson for TD Garden said the suspect may now be banned from the venue for life.
“We have zero tolerance for violations of our guest code of conduct, and the guest is subject to a lifetime ban from TD Garden,” the official said, perNBC Boston.
After the game, Irving, 29, told the press that “underlying racism” was to blame for the incident.
“It’s unfortunate that sports has come to a lot of this kind of crossroad where you’re seeing a lot of old ways come up,” the guard said. “It’s been that way in history in terms of entertainment and performers and sports for a long period of time. It’s just underlying racism and treating people like they’re in a human zoo – throwing stuff at people, saying things. There’s a certain point where it gets to be too much.”
“Fans got to grow up at some point,” Durant said. “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 realize these men are human.”
“We are not animals; we are not in the circus. You coming to the game is not all about you as a fan,” he continued. “So, have some respect for the game. Have some respect for the human beings, and have some respect for yourself. Your mother wouldn’t be proud of you throwing water bottles at basketball players or spitting on players or tossing popcorn. So, grow the f– up, and enjoy the game. It’s bigger than you.”
Kyrie Irving.Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty
“I am just looking forward to competing with my teammates and hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball; there’s no belligerence or racism going on — subtle racism,” Irving toldESPNlast week. “People yelling s— from the crowd, but even if it is, it’s part of the nature of the game and we’re just going to focus on what we can control.”
Across the NBA, multiple incidents have been reported of fans interacting inappropriately towards players in recent days.The New York Timesreports that fans have been banned indefinitely for spitting at Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, using inappropriate language at Memphis Grizzlies' guard Ja Morant’s family, and most recently,throwing popcornon Washington Wizards' Russell Westbrook.
On Thursday, the NBA released a statement telling spectators it is “critical” to show respect to players and officials, while sharing the organization’s fan code of conduct which the league said “will be vigorously enforced” moving forward, according toUSA Today. The National Basketball Players Association also followed up with astatementof its own about the recent events.
source: people.com
