San Antonio (AFP) – A fan who crashed the court in San Antonio in a bid to take a selfie with Spurs star Victor Wembanyama during game one of the NBA Finals has been banned for life from all league arenas, an NBA spokesperson said Thursday.
“The individual who entered the court area during Game 1 of The Finals was arrested and will be banned for life from all NBA arenas,” the spokesperson said. “A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident,” the spokesperson added.
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The incident briefly halted play midway through the fourth quarter of the New York Knicks’ game one triumph at Frost Bank Center. The fan ran onto the court holding up a cellphone, stopping in front of a bemused Wembanyama and Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson before security guards pushed him away then hustled him off the court.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office told the San Antonio Express-News that the selfie-seeker was a juvenile, so his name would not be released. But he was arrested on charges of intentionally interfering with a lawful gathering and criminal trespass for entering the court area despite having notice that such entry was prohibited.
Wembanyama admitted after the game he was non-plussed by the whole situation. “I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act. It really surprised me, almost as much as that time (when) a bat crossed the court,” added the French star, who experienced the bat fly-by during a game at the Frost Bank Center in his rookie season.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson downplayed the incident after the game. “I don’t think it was an event at all,” Johnson said. “I thought security got him out of there. I think everybody moved on to the next play.”
US media reported Thursday that the NBA is also looking into a fan’s interaction with Knicks star Jalen Brunson during game one that led Brunson to complain to referee Scott Foster about the fan’s behavior. The broadcast of the game showed Brunson in a heated exchange with a fan at courtside in the final minute of the game. The Athletic reported that the league was investigating whether the fan inappropriately taunted the player.
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