The VIP who shoved Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry during Game 3 of the NBA Finals is a part owner of the Golden State Warriors.
The incident occurred as the Raptors held a 10-point lead over the Golden State Warriors a few minutes into the 4th quarter at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Wednesday.
As Lowry chased a loose ball into the stands, he landed hard in the seat next to millionaire venture capitalist Mark Stevens, who reached over and roughly shoved Lowry.
Lowry immediately complained to the officials and demanded the VIP’s ejection from the arena. Stevens, who was later identified a Warriors part owner, was escorted from his expensive courtside seat after the referees reviewed the tape.
The Raptors went on the defeat the Warriors by a score of 123-109 to take a 2-1 lead in the seven game championship series.
During his post-game interview, Lowry said there is no place for poor sportsmanship at a NBA game.
“There’s no place for that,” Lowry said. “He had no reason to touch me. He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me. There’s no place for people like that in our league. Hopefully he never comes back to an NBA game.”
It isn’t clear if Lowry knew Stevens was part owner of the Warriors. Game 4 of the NBA Finals is Friday, June 7, at Oracle Arena.
Update: The Warriors issued a statement confirming Stevens is banned from Oracle Arena for the rest of the NBA Finals.
“Mr. Stevens’ behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization,” the Warriors said. “We’re extremely disappointed in his actions and, along with Mr. Stevens, offer our sincere apology to Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors organization for this unfortunate misconduct. There is no place for such interaction between fans-or anyone-and players at an NBA game.”
Photos by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
