Warriors Ban Owner From Attending Finals Games Because He Pushed a Raptors Player
Except he’s an investor not an owner, not even a minority owner
How does an investor differ from a minority owner? Is there a threshold of shares you have to hold to be considered the latter?
Honestly I’m not sure, espn made it clear today he’s NOT a owner in any way shape or form, he just invested some money and was returned his investment without getting ownership stakes.
I'm going to go out on a (firm, very sturdy) limb here and say that is PR spin to get away from "Warriors owner pushes Raptors player" headlines.
If he were not a minority owner, why would the NBA put out a press release about his becoming an owner in 2013?
Link: https://www.nba.com/warriors/news/mark-stevens-joins-ownership-group
That's all it could be. As much as the NFL gets shit for "protecting the shield" the NBA does it just as much.
Note how the fans are completely at fault for the malice at the palace whenever someone with NBA ties speaks about it. Shaq is even mentioning it in one of the clips in the OP.
I asked my warriors fan buddy in Oakland, he said the guy invested some money in the new arena, in exchange for some personalized seats. Meet and great with players that sort of stuff.
He invested $50 million dollars for a 6% stake in the Warriors in 2013
He obviously gets much more benefits than seats and a meet and greet
$50 mil is a minority investor?
To be a majority owner you have to own over 50%, and $50mil is nowhere close to being able to own half a pro franchise, not even MLS.
EDIT: Sorry, reading comprehension. You are correct he is not a majority owner. But the distinction is whether he's an "investor" or an owner.
50 million dollars dollars?
Dolla dolla bills y’all
Pretty cowardly move. Should invite the weasel to the dressing room and see if he wants to push Lowry there. No place in sports for that stuff.
So glad they lost last night.
Tangential, but how do they enforce this type of stuff? I’ve never had to show ID to get into a pro sports game. Just the ticket. What prevents him from getting a ticket through a family member or broker?
Probably warn ushers not to let him in and kick him out if he's spotted. Maybe also threaten to divest him of his share of the team if he violates his punishment.
If it's anything like Madison Square Garden they'll use facial recognition tech that was implemented without any announcement to the public.
I would think it wouldn’t be too difficult to get in, but there would be consequences if he did and was noticed, even after the fact. Presumably could be charged with trespassing and/or sued.
My sense is that there's a list of banned individuals that is distributed across the league and that ushers and other arena personnel have to familiarize themselves with.
Hard agree with this decision, god knows if it was the other way around it would be a massive news story
Stevens definitely should not have done that, it was stupid and there is really no excuse.
That said, this was a fairly minimal shove after Lowry crashed into the seats and the poor soul sitting in there. Lowry complaining about this and calling for a lifetime ban seems a bit soft IMO.
I don't know that he needs to be banned for life, but he shouldn't be courtside again. And Lowry was right to complain. The players shouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing. This push wasn't dangerous, but a trip, punch, etc. could be. And the NBA can't allow things to move in that direction.
What do you think would happen to Lowry if he walked into the guy's office, gave him a shove, and threw some expletives at him? Think he'd still be part of the organization?
So I didn't say "Stevens definitely should not have done that, it was stupid and there is really no excuse."?
Not OK. I just would have liked Lowry to have said something like "fans need to avoid this but we got the last laugh" or "that guy was so weak I barely felt it."
Players are sick of being treated like showhorses that can be talked down to and pushed around, and are beginning to speak up about it. The mentality of this owner/investor/whatever should be called out as often as necessary.
Unpopular take, so neg away: we should just eliminate courtside seats. The antics of Spike Lee used to be annoying. Drake is now an asshat, and this guy could have been dangerous. But also, players crash into these seats way too frequently, and could injure spectators.
Just scrap the courtside seats and let the rich folk sit with the plebs. Keep everyone safer.
I think the only way to gain access to courtside seats should be through community service. 100 hours per game depending on the quality of the teams?
So your argument is that instead of handling the situation like a professional and asking that adequate measures be made, Lowry should instead act like an internet commentor troll and tell this guy who shoved him to "hold this L"?
Yeah, hard disagree with that.
“fairly minimal shove.” Why is he shoving him at all? And he went out of his way to shove him.
This is my take too. He had zero reason to make any kind of contact with Lowry. The lady Lowry almost trucked hardly reacted. Stevens should be banned for life IMO. He's clearly a liability and too volitile to sit and watch a freaking basketball game.
I'm always amazed by people's ability to tell players to accept behavior and treatment they themselves wouldn't accept in their daily lives.
I was talking to a friend today and I pointed out that the people at courtside are probably the least capable of handling a 200+ lb guy running at them. Yes he and his friends got plowed over, but that's the cost of sitting so close to the court. I also hazard to guess that he wouldn't have shoved a GSW player.
It was a cheap thing to do by a guy who came across as entitled, and I'm glad he got banned.
Agree. Typical west coast elitist. Let him watch on T.V.
Definitely no elitists in.... fucking New York?
Other than Drake, are there any in Toronto???
WWDD
Typical self-entitled billionaire is more accurate. There are lots of people on the west coast that are not that.
And lots that are.....he is most definitely is. Never said everyone on the west coast is an elitist. But I do say that this guy is.
I get that it was a mild push, but I think it’s a pretty easy decision to ban the guy. No athlete should have to have second thoughts about their safety from fans, and it’s hard/unnecessary in the moment for a player to gauge if it will end there or turn into something more. It’s also easy for situations to escalate, even if not from that fan. If nothing else, this probably avoids an incident or two in the future because an idiot fan remembers that some day in the future they’d like to go to another game.
I mean, they don't punish rich bay area techbros for pushing everyone else out of housing and communities, so why should he get punished? /s
Update: NBA suspended him from attending all NBA games not just the Finals.
Good! Fuck this guy. Now hopefully Drake slips up too so we can get back to the actual game on the court.
It’s funny because Drake should be banned from all NBA games also. What, because he was giving back rubs instead of small shoves he is ok? Should Draymond Green have complained about Drake instead of laughing it off so he didn’t have to worry about that shit in Toronto?
I posted something similar down below. The funny thing about the whole Drake fued with these Golden State players is that when this series is all said and done, they will all be partying up together. The NBA is the new WWF.
Drake is an employee of the Raptors and has a relationship with the coach and players. If he did so to the opposing players it's a different story.
These two are not even close to be equals.
It’s the NBA fault for having court side seats. It’s outrageous that fans are so close to players. So many balls could be saved but players just don’t try cus they know they will go into the crowd.
Fans should be at least 5 yards away from the court.
Yet this type of incident rarely happens. So is it an NBA issue, or this jackass for not behaving in a normal manner?
Malice in the Palace
That Was in 2005...this is 14 years later
Bad take!
Blame the idiot who put his hands on the player, not the league or teams for selling the most prime tickets/seats in any given arena.
This looks like a job for ye olde guillotine and Lebron "Danton" James.