The New York Knicks indefinitely banned a fan who appeared to spit on basketball star Trae Young during Wednesday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Knicks claimed the team had investigated the matter and came to the conclusion that the fan did spit on Young in a tweet shared Thursday. The fan was not a season-ticket holder, the team said.
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 27, 2021
“We investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who is not a season ticket holder, did indeed spit on Trae Young, and for that reason, he is now banned from The Garden indefinitely,” the statement shared on Twitter said. “We apologize to Trae and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization for this fan’s behavior. This was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our venue. We have turned the information over to the appropriate authorities.” (RELATED: Bill De Blasio Tells Trae Young To ‘Stop Hunting For Fouls’ In Cringeworthy Moment)
The NBA released its own statement on fan behavior Thursday.
“The return of more NBA fans to our arenas has brought great excitement and energy to the start of the playoffs, but it is critical that we all show respect for players, officials and our fellow fans,” the statement said. “An enhanced fan code of conduct will be vigorously enforced in order to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all involved.”
Young shared a video of the fan appearing to spit at him on Twitter.
Damn… Crazy ! @50cent y’all good?!
???????????? https://t.co/p8jSbwyozT— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) May 27, 2021
“Damn… Crazy !” he wrote.
“Keep ya mask on my boy,” he added in another tweet.
This is crazy. I’ll never understand how a person who has no connection to a famous basketball player can have enough disdain to do something like this. It’s just gross.
Also is spitting on someone you don’t know worth getting “indefinitely” banned from Madison Square Garden? I’d say probably not.