The Phoenix Suns fan ejected from Wednesday’s game by Luka Doncic has spoken out about being kicked out by the NBA player.
The fan, identified as Arizona native Kenneth Roe, said he was asked to leave the American Airlines Center in Dallas for his heckling of the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic in an interview with Arizona Sports. Roe claims Doncic was pointing at him and spoke with security detail before being ejected. (RELATED: Soft: Mavericks Star Luka Doncic Has Heckling Fan Removed From Game, Complains About Media Coverage After)
The fan said that in the last two minutes of the third quarter, he was on his phone during a time-out when there was a commotion in his section. A female usher approached him with a “warning,” asking him to tone down his comments. Roe claimed Doncic was staring him down when a different usher asked Roe to leave his seat and go up to the concourse.
Luka Doncic asked security to eject this Suns fan, who was sitting two rows behind midcourt press row. The comment the fan made that drew Doncic’s wrath: “Luka, you’re tired! Get your ass on the treadmill!” pic.twitter.com/chNYwiJBC0
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 25, 2024
After Roe went up to the concourse, he said he was met by other security guards waiting for him, who asked him to throw out his beer before being escorted out of the arena. The fan said he waited outside the arena and contacted the three friends he left behind inside the game when a man who worked at the venue asked him to leave the property.
“I’m just sitting on the street calling my friends, and he said ‘Sir, you’re gonna have to leave the premises,'” the fan said the venue employee told him.
“This was kind of like a snowball effect, where it turned into a bigger and bigger deal,” Roe added.
Doncic had claimed the fan had been cussing him out throughout the game. Roe said otherwise, claiming he had not cursed at Doncic and had only made one comment directly to the player during the game, he told Arizona Sports.
“Run-of-the-mill trash talk … I’m sure any professional athlete who gets heckled by fans, it kinda comes with the territory. Wasn’t anything out of the ordinary,” Roe told Arizona Sports.
“I appreciate the support, I don’t know what he said. I hope he didn’t cross too many lines, and I’ll be getting his information. If you can find it, let me know,” Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns’ point guard, told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon in regards to the incident.
Roe confirmed he received an Instagram direct message from Suns.
“Let’s just say, you might see my mug at a game here pretty soon before the all-star break,” Roe told Arizona Sports.
The fan said he has ultimately decided to put the incident behind him.
“I’m not gonna start some beef with Luka. I get it, we’ve all played sports,” Roe told Arizona Sports. “I’m not gonna ask for a refund or anything petty like that. I accept his apology, and I get it, Luka. You’re off the hook.”