On Wednesday night, Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood was ejected in a game against the Washington Wizards for excessively arguing with referee Tony Brothers. The incident may have been dramatic enough, until Hood left the game fuming, slapping the phone out of a fan's hand who tried to record him exiting the court.
Obviously, this action is unacceptable and Hood will likely be punished by the NBA. However, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, the fan was furious that security didn't punish Hood for “assaulting” him. He has even pressed to try and get the local police department involved with the incident.
The phone fell to the arena floor, and set off some drama. The fan spoke with Capital One Center security and Jazz security officials for much of the fourth quarter, pressing for police action. While police are unlikely to go after Hood for the interaction, the NBA will probably go after his wallet. Technical fouls are already $2000 each, and ejections cost $2000 apiece. Fines for crossing the lines with fans typically go higher: Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins and Austin Rivers have already been fined $25,000 each for using profanity in exchanges with fans.
Hood likely won't be suspended for the ordeal, but like the report says, he will be heavily fined for the unnecessary, obscene interaction with the fan. It is unknown if the fan's phone is damaged, but it's entirely possible that it is if the fan went as far as pressing charges for the incident. While Hood's punishment from the NBA will be coming down soon, we'll see if it means that the fan is ready to let go of the whole brouhaha.
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