LeBron James is the latest NBA player to speak out about a physical altercation between Golden State Warriors employee Mark Stevens and Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry. Lowry was chasing a loose ball into the crowd when he was shoved by Stevens.
Lowry called for Stevens to be banned, and James also did not mince his words as he called for a similar response from the league.
“There’s absolutely no place in our BEAUTIFUL game for that AT ALL,” James wrote on Instagram.
“There’s so many issues here. When you sit courtside you absolutely know what comes with being on the floor and if you don’t know it’s on the back on the ticket itself that states the guidelines. But he himself being a fan but more importantly PART-OWNER of the Warriors knew exactly what he was doing which was so uncalled for. He knew the rules more than just the average person sitting watching the game courtside so for that Something needs to be done ASAP! A swift action for his actions. Just think to yourself, what if @kyle_lowry7 would have reacted and put his hands back on him. You guys would be going CRAZY!! Calling for him to damn near be put in jail let alone being suspended for the rest of the Finals all because he was protected himself. I’ve been quite throughout the whole NBA playoffs watching every game (haven’t missed one) but after I saw what I saw last night, took time to let it manifest into my thinking I couldn’t and wouldn’t be quiet on this!”
Stevens has since been banned by the NBA for the remainder of the Finals.
Lowry, meanwhile, had the last laugh with 23 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block as the Raptors went on to take a 2-1 series lead over the Warriors.