Despite four great games of basketball, the story of Sunday night became about the fan who threw a bottle at Kyrie Irving after Game 4 between the Nets and Celtics.
Amid outrage from the players, the media, and the fans, there were calls for the fan to be arrested and charged. A report by Tim Bontemps confirmed that he was arrested by officers for the incident.
A league source confirms to ESPN that the fan who allegedly threw the water bottle at Kyrie Irving has been arrested.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 31, 2021
TD Garden just released the following statement about Kyrie Irving having a water bottle thrown at him after the game. pic.twitter.com/pGHINrCi15
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 31, 2021
It might seem extreme to involve law enforcement for a bottle-throwing incident, but it’s about time that the NBA makes a statement involving fan altercations with the players.
This month especially, there have been a number of these altercations, and each one has generated an increasing intensity of outrage.
Guys like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and now Kyrie Irving have spoken out, urging the league to protect the players and respond to these incidents. It seems this bottle-throwing controversy was the final straw.
It remains to be seen how things will play out for the fan. It’s clear he made a mistake, and he probably regrets his actions at this point.
Hopefully, this will make every fan going forward have second thoughts about throwing things at players. There is just no room for that in the NBA anyway.
