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The anger in Dallas is at a peak. Two Mavericks fans were ejected from the team's arena following a shouting match with minority governor Mark Cuban, per ESPN. The incident occurred during a Dallas loss in overtime Monday to the Sacramento Kings.
The fans were allegedly screaming in the stands for the team to fire general manager Nico Harrison. When the Mavericks were shooting free throws, the fans yelled out “Fire Nico!” Mavericks fans are angry at Harrison for trading Luka Doncic in recent days to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cuban, who was sitting near the bench, engaged with the fans after that. The engagement soon turned to anger. The anger resulted in a shouting match between the two parties.
“Shut the f— up and sit the f— down!” Cuban yelled at the fans, according to footage a fan gave to ESPN. The two spectators were soon after thrown out of the arena.
Cuban went on to tell the outlet that he didn't yell at the fans until they started pointing and screaming at him. While Cuban was once majority governor of the franchise, he is not now. The Dumont and Adelson families are now the majority governors.
The Mavericks franchise and their fans are at war right now
Things have gotten so bad between the Mavericks and their fans that even team coach Jason Kidd missed his postgame press conference on Monday. That was seen as unprecedented.
The Mavericks released a statement after the game defending the ejection of the fans. Dallas argued the fans violated NBA's rules of conduct.
“In the second incident, the fan wore a T-shirt that also broke the rule [cited] and was also intoxicated, disruptive and uncooperative, all listed in the NBA Fan Code of Conduct,” Mavericks vice president of corporate communications Erin Finegold said in the release.
Mavericks fans also protested outside the arena in recent days. Doncic, who was seen as the face of the team, was traded to Los Angeles for big man Anthony Davis.
The players on the team are hoping to see the rage subside.
“You just got to give everybody grace,” Mavericks guard Irving said. “To see the emotions come out like that over basketball, that just shows you that basketball is not just a game to certain people.
“It's a spiritual experience. It's a connector piece, and they watch their favorite players, and they want to see them forever. So I run the side of just understanding where people are coming from.”
Dallas next plays again at home on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors. Time will tell how the fans react during the game.
