Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson claims he did not mean to mimic a gun motion toward a fan during a 42-point loss against the L.A. Clippers on Saturday, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.
Jackson expressed regret for making the hand gesture, noting the fan had been heckling throughout the entire game.
“That’s what most people thought I was going but I actually wasn’t making a gun,” Jackson said, adding he has seen the video of it. “I kind of wanted to put up the middle finger to him but I didn’t do that because I felt like I was really being watched so I kind of halfway did it.”
Giving the fan the finger would have yielded a similar result in the league's eyes, but anything related to gun violence is something the NBA has been forced to play close attention to, given the endless protests by players hoping to take a stand for those victims of it.
The No. 4 overall selection claims he's still adjusting to the way the NBA handles these types of things, where the fan is often overprotected in most cases.
“He called me a few names as I was coming out of the game so that’s what really set me off,” Jackson said. “But it had been going on from the same guy the entire game. Fans can come and sit so close and say whatever they want to say and us as players can’t react in any type of way. It’s something I’m still learning.”
Jackson said he's yet to hear from the NBA about a possible sanction, but “whatever consequence comes I’m ready for it.” General manager Ryan McDonough said the league has reached out to Jackson about the situation.
Tim Frank, the league’s senior vice president of basketball communications, said in an email that “if there is anything to announce we will announce it.”
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