NBA commissioner Adam Silver, in accordance with the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, took quick and abrupt action to separate incidents that occurred during both Game 2's on Wednesday Night. On Friday, Silver reacted to both.
The stories are well known by now unless you've been living under a rock. Russell Westbrook was exiting the floor in Philadelphia after suffering an ankle injury when a fan poured popcorn all over him.
In New York, a fan attempted to spit on the back of Trae Young late in the 4th quarter of their NBA Playoff Game 2 matchup at Madison Square Garden.
Both fans have since been banned from attending games or events at those respective arenas for good. The move was applauded and supported and on Friday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke up on the matters.
Via NBC Sports Washington, here's what the man who helps run the NBA had to say.
“In the case with [Russ], even with the tarps that cover the [tunnels] where people are leaving. There was literally a gap between the tarp and the railing. There’s a reason those tarps are there because there had been incidents where things were thrown on players, drinks spilled or other things. We can tighten that up. It’s been a while since we've had large crowds in our arenas. And maybe people let their guards down a bit.” – Adam Silver on NBC Sports Washington.
When the NBA commissioner was asked how this can be prevented going forward he gave a very straight forward response.
“Zero tolerance,” Silver said. “No one is going to get away with an act like that. You're going to be caught. You're going to be banned from an arena. In some cases there may be criminal prosecution depending if the conduct rises to that level of an assault or something that the police are going to take note of.” – Adam Silver.
Silver has been well regarded since his time taking over as NBA commissioner in 2014. It pales in comparison to how most view other commissioners like Roger Goodell and Rob Manfred.
The NBA did right in these cases and the hope is the punishments prevent future actions like this from occurring.
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