The NBA has informed teams of new measures regarding combatting fan misconduct, according to Shams Charania.
The measures include the following:
- In addition to bans, teams/arenas encouraged to develop processes for pursuing law violations
- Code of Conduct announcement to be made 3 times during games
- Enhanced arena security deployment
This comes as a result of multiple unnecessary and unacceptable fan-related incidents at various arenas throughout the first round of playoffs.
The incidents include:
- 76ers fan dumps popcorn on Wizards’ Russell Westbrook as he leaves the court with an ankle injury
- Knicks fan spits at Hawks’ Trae Young
- Jazz fans verbally abuse Grizzlies’ Ja Morant’s family
- Celtics fan throws water bottle and nearly hits Nets’ Kyrie Irving as he walks to the locker room after game
- Wizards fan runs on court before being tackled by a security officer
It’s sad that some people need to be told and reminded to treat others, in this case, the players, with respect and not like they’re animals in a circus, as Kevin Durant said.
