After a Suns loss in Game 4, the series is officially at a 2-2 tie as things transition back to Phoenix. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the game that was the biggest story this weekend.
Rather, it was the actions of some out-of-line Mavs fans, who reportedly put their hands on Chris Paul’s family during the game, with his kids watching it all go down.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin provided the details:
A source familiar with Chris Paul’s tweet after Game 4 told ESPN that Paul’s mother had hands put on her by Dallas fans and Paul’s wife was also pushed. To make matters worse, Paul’s kids witnessed it. “They felt very unsafe,” the source said.
A source familiar with Chris Paul's tweet after Game 4 told ESPN that Paul's mother had hands put on her by Dallas fans and Paul's wife was also pushed. To make matters worse, Paul's kids witnessed it. "They felt very unsafe," the source said.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 8, 2022
The whole situation was brought to light thanks to this tweet by Chris Paul, who was obviously very heated.
Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families….fuck that!!
— Chris Paul (@CP3) May 8, 2022
Chris Paul was not happy. 😳
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 9, 2022
At first, fans were confused as to what was going on. Some even doubted anything happened at all. But videos have surfaced online, showing that something was definitely happening in American Airlines Center.
this was right after what Chris Paul is talking about here. shortly after this, his son left the game. https://t.co/J20q9bThfg pic.twitter.com/CzYI1iuywH
— Khiz (@KhizHoop) May 8, 2022
hard to make out what is happening, but guessing from the surrounding fans waving, I believe the fan was ejected. pic.twitter.com/9MvIcxsVR2
— Khiz (@KhizHoop) May 9, 2022
Sadly, this behavior isn’t completely out of the norm for fans these days. Back in November, for example, LeBron James was forced to toss some courtside fans in the middle of a game for using “obscene gestures and words.”
“I mean nothing’s uncomfortable for me,” LeBron said after the incident. “It’s a difference between cheering for your home faithful… not wanting your opponents to be successful. Then there’s moments where it goes outside the line. With obscene gestures and words that shouldn’t be tolerated in our game. I would never say it to a fan, and a fan should never say it to a player.”
Of course, saying hurtful words is different than literally putting your hands on a player’s family. The latter is taking things to a whole new level, and there’s no excuse or good reason for doing it.
It remains to be seen what the NBA will do. Besides a lifetime ban for the fans in question, it’s unlikely any action gets taken for a while. Still, it’s clear that the league has a problem with the fans getting too wild during games.
Let’s hope the problem gets resolved sooner rather than later.
