Fan ejected from Lakers-Kings for throwing ball back to ref a little too hard
There are still people paying to go to Sacramento Kings games, which kind of feels like a miracle given that the team has the worst cumulative record in basketball since 2010 and hasn’t advanced in the playoffs since 2004. On Wednesday night, as the Kings were hosting the Los Angeles Lakers, one Sacramento fan got sent home early for a bizarre interaction with a referee that sparked a shocked reaction from Luka Doncic.
The ball went out of bounds after Kings guard Malik Monk drove into the teeth of the defense. It bounced to a fan in a courtside seat sitting on the baseline, and they threw a hard chest pass back to the referee. The ref thought the fan threw the ball at her too aggressively, and she motioned to the other officials that the fan needed to be ejected. Doncic, who was waiting for the ref to hand her the ball, took the ref’s side, and asked the fan what the hell he was doing.
Do you think the fan deserved to be ejected for this? Watch the interaction for yourself, and be the judge.
The fan certainly threw the ball at the ref with some velocity. It’s not like they whipped it with one hand, though. This is just a good old fashioned chest pass, just like a coach would teach. It’s hard to tell if the fan threw this pass with malice, or if they just put a little too much heat on the ball because they were sitting down and didn’t realize their own strength.
Here’s another look at the play:
And here’s Doncic’s comment on the interaction after the game:
Doncic seemed to agree that the fan deserved to be ejected. I feel like I’m on the fence. I have no idea what the fan’s intent was when they threw the ball back at the ref, but I can understand wanting to make sure the ball gets there and throwing it a little harder than necessary.
Am I making too many excuses for the fan? Did they deserve the boot? What do you think?