Posts Categorized: Sports

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Rihanna confirmed as headliner of 2023 Super Bowl LVII Halftime show

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Rihanna is confirmed to headline Super Bowl 57's Halftime show on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Barbadian singer replaces pop superstar Taylor Swift who turned down the gig, TMZ reports.

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Rihanna, 34, reportedly negotiated with the NFL to receive the same paycheck that would've gone to Taylor.

Fans took to social media to celebrate Rihanna's choice as Super Bowl headliner.

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"I just like her and what she does, and her get down, and how she approaches her artistry and the whole nine. It's fantastic," said Dr. Dre in an interview on Apple Music 1.

"She has the opportunity to really blow us away. I know we set the bar extremely high," said Dre, who performed during the Halftime Show in February.

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Taylor, 32, is still upset that music manager Scooter Braun bought the masters to her albums in 2019.

She reportedly turned down the Super Bowl Halftime gig as she's busy re-recording those albums. The singer adds "Taylor's Version" to the album titles to avoid conflict.

She released her first 2 re-recorded albums in 2021 and both were ranked among the 10 best-selling albums of the year. She believes her masters were stolen by Scooter.

The 11-time Grammy-winner announced her 10th studio album, Midnights, is set for release on October 21.

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Celtics Coach Ime Udoka Faces Lengthy Suspension for ‘Improper’ Relationship with Staffer

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Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka faces a lengthy suspension for an alleged "improper" relationship with a young female staffer.

The Celtics are considering a lengthy suspension after Ime broke the franchise's "organizational guidelines."

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Udoka engaged in an "improper intimate and consensual relationship" with a young female employee within the organization, that violated the organization's code of conduct.

According to Wojnarowski, internal discussions with the team includes keeping Ime out for the entire 2022-23 NBA season. Ime's job is not in jeopardy.

The Celtics will begin training camp next Tuesday without their head coach. A temporary replacement coach has not been named.

Ime is the 5th Black head coach in Boston Celtics history.

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Ime, 45, is in a longterm domestic relationship with actress Nia Long, 51. They share 10-year-old son, Kez Sunday Udoka. Nia also has a son, Massai Dorsey II, from a previous relationship.

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Nia Long is best known for her roles in the urban films Boyz n the Hood (1991), Love Jones and Soul Food. She has appeared on TV shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Boston Legal and Fox TV's Empire.

Nia sat at courtside with Kez during the 2021-22 NBA Finals when the Celtics made their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. The Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

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Las Vegas Aces Makes History by Winning WNBA Championship

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The Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA championship in franchise history by beating the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday.

The Aces were led by WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year A'ja Wilson who was named WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year for the 2022 season.

"I always felt like Vegas set the standard, maybe because that's the only time I've been on," Wilson said. "When you have an owner like Mark [Davis] so dialed in and trustworthy of you and figuring out what can we do better, how can we do more or get people wanting to come to Vegas or just wanting to play better, the sky is the limit for our franchise."

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Finals MVP Chelsea Gray scored a game-high 20 points and Riquna Williams (#2) scored 17 points off the bench to lead the Aces to a 78-71 road win.

The Aces also became the first major professional sports team to win a championship for Las Vegas.

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Nick Young Falls Out Of the Ring After Headbutt by Malcolm Minikon

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Nick "Swaggy P" Young lost his first exhibition boxing match after he was headbutted and fell out of the ring in the fourth round.

The unscored 5-round exhibition match was stopped when Malcolm Minikon headbutted Young who fell out of the ring, according to Bleacher Report.

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Young lay on the apron holding held his head at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Minikon stepped in to fight the former L.A. Laker at the last minute after the California boxing commission rejected rapper Blueface's application for a boxing license.

At issue was Blueface's history of domestic violence involving his on-again, off-again girlfriend Chrisean Rock.

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After the fight, Young said Minikon illegally headbutted him.

"I felt good, I hit him a lot, I felt I came and did what I had to do," Young told Harry Davies of Mirror UK.

"He hit me with a cheap shot and that's what you've got to do when you're losing. I don't want him getting a headbutt at the end and thinking he won off a headbutt. I don't know how you can think he won."

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California Boxing Commission Cancels Fight Between Blueface & Nick Young

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Saturday's celebrity boxing match between rapper Blueface and former NBA star Nick "Swaggy P" Young has been called off.

The fight was canceled amid reports of violent domestic altercations between the rapper and his girlfriend.

The California State Athletic Commission sent a letter to Blueface on Tuesday, informing him that his application for a pro boxing license would not be granted until he appears before the organization in October to explain his domestic situation.

TMZ reports that the promoter is scrambling to find an opponent for Swaggy P, 37.

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Swaggy P (pictured) couldn't resist taking a jab at Blueface after hearing the news.

"He too busy getting his ass whoop [sic] outside the ring so who wanna take his place?" he wrote on Instagram.

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Blueface, who is best known for his hit song "Thotiana", has made headlines for several violent altercations involving his girlfriend Chrisean Rock.

According to TMZ, Blueface, 25, was also removed from the recent KSI boxing event at the O2 Arena in London, where he was supposed to fight FaZe Temperrr.

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Chrisean, 22, was recently arrested and charged with simple assault for punching Blueface at a gig in Phoenix, Arizona.

They are known for their wild fights that are often caught on camera.

After bonding out of jail, Chrisean took to social media and vowed she would never hit the rapper again — at least not in public.

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Serena Williams Defeats No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in 2nd Round Upset at 2022 US Open

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Serena Williams upset No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit to advance to the 3rd round at the 2022 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

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Williams is playing in her final US Open after announcing her retirement from women's tennis.

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The 40-year-old mom-of-one said a bathroom break gave her the "boost" she needed to defeat Kontaveit

"I just got lighter," Williams told reporters in the press room after the match.

When a reporter asked about the bathroom break, Williams replied, "Use your imagination. But it wasn't No. 2."

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Williams beat Kontaveit 7-6(4) in the first set of the match. Kontaveit rallied with a 6-2 victory in the second set. After taking a bathroom break, Williams appeared to be rejuvenated when she emerged from the stadium tunnel in the third set.

Williams won the set 6-2 to upset the number 2 seed and advance to the third round.

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Among the notables in the stands were Serena's biggest fan, her daughter Olympia.

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Supermodels Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid.

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And golf superstar Tiger Woods and his life partner Erica Herman.

Williams faces Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia in the third round match on Friday.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion and Tomljanovic will meet for the first time. The winner of their match on Friday will advance to face Russian Liudmila Samsonova or Serbian Aleksandra Krunic for a spot in the quarterfinals.

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Ex-Virginia Tech LB who killed Tinder date he thought was a woman is back playing football

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Montgomery County Jail, Facebook

Former Virginia Tech linebacker Isimemen Etute is back playing football after a jury cleared him of murdering a Tinder date.

The jury in May acquitted the then-19-year-old athlete of killing Jerry Smith, a 40-year-old gay man who identified as a 21-year-old woman to trap unsuspecting college students on Tinder.

Etute is set to play football this fall at Iowa Western Community College, ESPN reports.

Etute's attorney James Turk confirmed the news to ESPN. Turk said it was difficult finding a Division 1 school willing to take a chance on Etute following his arrest and murder trial.

During his emotional closing argument, Turk suggested that Etute was the victim.

"I think he's earned the right to go back to school and further his academic and sports career," Turk told reporters outside the courthouse. "I think the school that ends up taking him is going to get probably a lot wiser and a much smarter and an exceptional athlete."

Etute was 18 when he connected with Smith on Tinder. Smith presented himself as an emergency room physician named Angie Renee.

After Smith performed oral sex on Etute, the two men engaged in anal intercourse. Etute said Smith kept the lights off in his apartment and hid his face.

Smith paid the college athlete $50 for the encounter. Etute stopped returning Smith's texts when he heard rumors around town that Smith was a man.

Etute said he went back to Smith's apartment on May 31, 2021, to find out whether he was a male or a female, police said.

After confirming his suspicion that Smith was a male, Etute punched him five times and kicked him when he thought Smith was reaching for a gun, according to his defense attorney.

The gay panic defense has been used successfully in other murder cases. But it is banned in many jurisdictions.
 

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Nick Young Says He Will Knock Out Blueface in ’15 Seconds’

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Nick Young, a.k.a. Swaggy P, says rapper Blueface doesn't stand a chance when they step in the ring for a celebrity boxing match on July 30 at Crypto Arena in L.A.

Swaggy P tells TMZ Sports that fans should tune in early because the fight will be over in 15 seconds!

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The ex-Lakers star made the prediction when he bumped into TMZ in L.A. earlier this week. He said it'll only take him about 15 seconds to finish the trash-talking "Thotiana" rapper.

Nick is so confident that he will knock Blueface out because the rapper's lifestyle means he is out of shape. Nick plans to drop the 25-year-old in the 1st Round!

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"He's a rapper," Nick said. "They've got to be in the studio all night. You've got to drink, you've got to smoke. We don't do that type of stuff."

Blueface, meanwhile, was just as confident, telling TMZ that he'll beat Nick to a pulp and make the 37-year-old retired athlete "look bad."

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Blueface tells TMZ he plans to continue boxing after the fight, and he's already got a match lined up for late August.

Nick, meanwhile, says if the money's right, he'll continue boxing as well, "I'm just going on a knock-a-motha-f***as-out tour."

Question: Who do you think will win the boxing match?

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Twitter drags WNBA for Buying Cheap All-Star MVP trophy

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The WNBA is struggling financially. So much so that the league chose not to splurge on the WNBA All-Star Most Valuable Player trophy.

The WNBA was dragged on Twitter for its low-budget MVP hardware.

Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum, of Team Wilson, was presented with the puny MVP trophy during the 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star game at the Wintrust Arena on July 10, 2022 in Chicago.

Kelsey led her team to a 134-112 victory over Team Stewart. She scored 30 points to match the All-Star scoring record set by Maya Moore in 2015.

One Twitter user wrote, "The WNBA could have gone to Amazon and bought a better looking trophy."

Other Twitter users decided to chip in and buy Kelsey a fancier MVP trophy with her name on it.

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Charlotte Hornets not offering Miles Bridges max contract after he uploaded photo of himself drinking lean and smoking weed

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The Charlotte Hornets declined to offer Miles Bridges a max contract after he uploaded an image of himself allegedly drinking lean and smoking weed.

According to reports, Bridges demanded a max contract after he was the team's highest scorer during his breakout 2021-22 season.

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A max contract would include over $30 million per season and bonuses for Bridges. But reports are that the Hornets refused to pay a max contract to a possible junkie.
 
READ ALSO: Hornets star Miles Bridges apologizes for hitting young fan in face with mouthguard
 
According to TPS, Bridges' actions off the court made it easier for the Hornets to make their decision.

"The 24-year-old Charlotte Hornets player posted on his Instagram Stories featuring a joint and a styrofoam cup with pink/purple-ish colored liquid inside."

Bridges captioned a June 6 tweet "Pink lemonade" before deleting it.

Lean, also called purple drank, is a mixture of prescription codeine cough syrup, a soft drink and hard candy in a styrofoam cup.

"He's not being offered, from what I'm told, a max contract from the Charlotte Hornets right now," said Brian Windhorst via ESPN. "So, he's going to go out into the market place, starting on Thursday or Friday, and see if he can get that offer from somewhere else."

Bridges was ejected for hitting a young fan in the face with his mouthguard during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2022 in Atlanta.

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Blac Chyna, Alysia Magen Call ‘Bulls–t’ After Celebrity Boxing Match Ends in Draw

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Blac Chyna and her opponent Alysia Magen both called bullsh*t after their first pay-per-view celebrity boxing match ended in a draw on Saturday night.

"Maybe they should check the scores again!" Chyna said after the fight, according to TMZ.

Chyna went down hard in the 2nd round - after she was pushed by Alysia - at the Charles F. Dodge Center in Pembroke Pines near Miami, Florida.

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Chyna lunged at Alysia during the pre-fight weigh in on Friday. The two ladies were separated by their muscular handlers.

The ladies threw a flurry of soft punches and light body shots during the fight, billed as the "South Florida Rumble."

The small crowd grew restless for some real boxing action in the third and final round, but they didn't get their wish.

The judges scored the fight a draw between the two evenly matched Instagram models.

During the match, fans tweeted that Blac Chyna booked a fight the day before she's scheduled to babysit her two children - King Cairo Stevenson, 9, and Dream, 5.

It isn't clear how many people paid to watch Chyna and Alysia throwing paws at each other.

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Colin Kaepernick Has Tryout with Las Vegas Raiders This Week

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NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick has a scheduled tryout with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to ESPN.

The quarterback-turned-activist was blackballed by the NFL after he kneeled during the national anthem before games. He claimed he kneeled to bring awareness to racial inequality in America.

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Kaepernick, 34, hasn't played in the NFL since the 2016 season.

His last NFL tryout in Atlanta in 2019 was a disaster after he objected to the liability waiver the NFL asked him to sign.
 
RELATED: NFL Teams Snub Colin Kaepernick After Strange NFL Workout in Atlanta
 
Sports Illustrated reviewed a copy of the waiver. In the waiver the NFL asked Kaepernick to agree not to sue any teams in the future.

Kaepernick settled a lawsuit against the NFL in 2019 for an undisclosed amount.

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"My desire to play football is still there," Kaepernick told USA Today in 2020.

"I still train five days a week. I'm ready to go, I'm ready for a phone call, tryout, workout at any point in time. I'm still waiting on the owners and their partners to stop running from this situation. So I hope I get a call this offseason. I'll be looking forward to it."

In June 2021 commissioner Roger Goodell (with a firm nudge from Jay Z) asked teams to reconsider signing the former 49ers quarterback.

Raiders owner Mark Davis said he would give his "blessing" if his coaches wanted to sign Kaepernick.

Davis' late father, Al Davis, hired the league's first Black and Hispanic coaches (Art Shell and Tom Flores).

Kaepernick led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013.

He was benched in 2016 and refused to stand up for the national anthem shortly afterwards.

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Outrage: Chris Paul Reacts After Fan Pushed His Mom During Game 4

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A fan was ejected from an arena in Dallas after he reportedly shoved Chris Paul's mother in front of his children.

The incident happened on Sunday during Game 4 of the Mavericks-Suns NBA playoff series at the American Airlines Center.

The fan got into an altercation with the Phoenix Suns star's mom in the stands. Paul's mother was sitting next to his wife and their children behind the Suns' bench when the fan shoved her without provocation.

Cell phone video shows team officials holding Paul back before security removed the fan from the arena.
 

An outraged Chris Paul took to Twitter to voice his frustration over the incident late Sunday.

He tweeted: "Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families... f--k that!!"

The Dallas Mavericks issued a statement on Sunday.

"The Dallas Mavericks are aware of an incident between a fan and the family of Chris Paul. It was unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. The Mavericks, along with American Airlines Center, swiftly removed the fan from today's game."

Paul fouled out of the game with just 5 points in the Suns' 111-101 loss to the Mavs. The best-of-seven series is now tied 2-2. Game 5 is on Tuesday in Phoenix.

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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith rails against Colin Kaepernick getting back in the NFL

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Stephen A. Smith is sick and tired of hearing about Colin Kaepernick's attempts to play in the NFL.

Kaepernick is so desperate to join the NFL that he said he is willing to accept a backup quarterback position.

In an episode of his ESPN show "First Take," Smith called Kaepernick's comments "utter nonsense. I'm sick of this."

You may recall that Kaepernick was so upset at losing his starting QB position with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 that he refused to stand during the national anthem before the game.

After reporters questioned him about sitting during the national anthem, he decided to get down on one knee rather than sit on the bench.

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It was then that Kaepernick claimed he was kneeling to protest against racial injustice, police brutality and oppression in America.

In 2017, he opted out of his contract with the 49ers and became a free agent. He was then blacklisted in the NFL.

Kepernick sued the NFL in 2019 and won a multi-million dollar settlement.

Now Kaepernick says he will accept a backup quarterback position if an NFL team will sign him.

On Tuesday, Stephen A. Smith turned on Kaepernick after being one of his most vocal supporters in the past.

"My brother, you ain't played in five years. We don't know what you can do but we still believe in you. I believe Colin Kaepernick could be on an NFL team right now and help a team despite being gone for five years because I think he's that gifted. That ain't the point!" Smith said.

"The point is coaches, players and executives all answer to owners of those respective football teams and they don't want to touch you... I understand your point about not trusting them, hell we don't trust them. But we were willing to fight for you, you didn't want to listen to anybody. And now the NFL is saying, ratings are up 10% from the year before. Super Bowl ratings were up 6%. We got some of the best numbers since 2015, that's without Colin Kaepernick. Why would we invite this trouble? Who didn't know they were gonna do that? Who didn't warn Colin Kaepernick they weren't gonna do that?"

The ESPN host continued:

"That's why we told you. Go work out. Show what you can do and let the momentum build to force their hand. But you didn't wanna play. You didn't wanna talk. And that's why you're still doing interviews instead of throwing touchdowns."

Watch video of Stephen A. Smith's statement below.
 

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Charlotte Hornets star Miles Bridges apologizes for hitting young fan in face with mouthguard

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NBA star Miles Bridges apologized for throwing his mouthguard into the stands and hitting a young fan.

The incident happened on Wednesday when the Charlotte Hornets took on the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in a single-elimination play-in game.

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Rappers Jay Z (pictured), Nelly, and Quavo were among the celebrities sitting courtside to watch the play-in game.

According to PEOPLE, Bridges, 24, was ejected in the fourth quarter after receiving a second technical for arguing a foul call.

As the crowd cheered his ejection, Miles removed his mouthguard and flung it at a fan while leaving the court. However, his aim was off and the saliva-covered mouthguard hit a 16-year-old girl in the face.

The Hornets went on to lose to the Hawks 132-103. The loss eliminated Charlotte from the NBA playoffs. The Hornets haven't made the playoffs since 2016.

After the game, Bridges took to Twitter to say his behavior was "unacceptable."

"Somebody get me in contact with that little girl. That's unacceptable," he tweeted alongside a video of the incident. The girl is seen on the left wearing a red jacket in the video.

He also told reporters, "That's definitely unacceptable on my part, and I take full responsibility. I'm ready for any consequence that the NBA gives me."

Bridges told ESPN, "I was aiming for the guy that was screaming at me and it hit a little girl."

A silicone mouthguard is considered a biohazard since it is saturated in a bodily fluid (saliva) and could transmit an infectious disease such as Covid-19 or herpes.

Bridges told reporters he contacted the girl and apologized to her.

According to ESPN, the 16-year-old girl did not want her name published to protect her privacy.

"I lost my cool last night," Bridges told reporters. "...That was embarrassing on my part... I take full responsibility."

No punishment was announced by the NBA or the Hornets. But in a similar incident, Warriors star Stephen Curry was fined $25,000 in 2016 for throwing his mouthguard into the stands and hitting a fan.