Subscribe
Follow Us
NBA commissioner Adam Silver explained the decision of giving Golden State Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens a one-year ban from NBA games, along with a $500,000 fine for his actions against Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Stevens shoved Lowry after the guard dived over the crowd attempting to chase and save a loose ball. Upon recovering to his feet, Stevens pushed Lowry in the arm after reaching over a couple of seats while directing profanity toward the player — an action the league couldn't condone upon investigating matters.
“Immediately after it happened after the game, the NBA and Warriors security interviewed Mr. Stevens to get his side of the story,” said Silver. “We of course collected all the video and interviewed some of the people that were sitting nearby. We spoke to Kyle Lowry after the game, gathered the facts and then I think the ultimate decision on his discipline came about over the course of today in discussions between the league and the Warriors.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver explains why Warriors investor Mark Stevens was given a one-year ban instead of a life-time ban pic.twitter.com/54dxMMObCc
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 6, 2019
Pressed as to why this wasn't a lifetime ban, the same way two Utah Jazz fans had been handled by the league after directing racial attacks at Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook — Silver provided this explanation:
“I think we realize this is not a science in terms of making these decisions,” said Silver. “Ultimately we felt, given how contrite Mr. Stevens was, the fact that he was extraordinarily apologetic, the fact that he had no blemishes on his prior involvement with the NBA or the Warriors — a one year ban seemed appropriate together with a fine.”
The $500,000 fine was among the heftiest ones ever given for an on-court incident, yet many questioned if that was enough, given Stevens' net worth of $2.3 billion.
However, the public outrage rests on the principle that had this not been a minority owner or an investor in one of the league's most successful franchises, he would have been banned outright for the rest of his life.
Silver's argument that Stevens had “no blemishes” on his record holds very little water, considering that neither did the two fans that were banned earlier in the season.
It is these types of inconsistencies that eventually even up leaving some grey area for interpretation. While the Warriors and the league got ahead of this in snappy-quick fashion, it seems the outcome is rather underwhelming, given the precedents set earlier this season and how this punishment fails to adhere to the NBA's own zero tolerance policy.
