Mark Stevens, a Golden State Warriors minority owner who engaged in a shoving and cursing match with Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, is set to return to his role at the end of the season.
In a report by Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, according to Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob, Stevens “had a momentary awful lapse in judgment and has paid the penalty and served the suspension without complaint.”
To recall, Lowry and Stevens were involved in a scuffle in Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Raptors and Warriors. After Lowry crashed into the first row of the Oracle Arena where Stevens was seated, the latter shoved and cursed at the guard several times. According to Lowry, Stevens said “go f–k yourself” several times.
The NBA fined Stevens $500,000 and banned him from attending games and team events for a season. Stevens released a statement taking full responsibility for his actions.
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night at the NBA Finals and am embarrassed by what transpired,” Stevens said. “What I did was wrong and there is no excuse for it. Mr. Lowry deserves better, and I have reached out today in an attempt to directly apologize to him and other members of the Raptors and Warriors organizations. I’m grateful to those who accepted my calls.”
A day after the incident, Lowry said that Stevens “shouldn't be part” of the NBA.
“The ownership that they have that I know, they’re unbelievable guy. But a guy like that, showing his true class, he shouldn’t be a part of our league. There’s just no place for that.”
Lowry continued: “I don’t know him. I don’t care to know him. He showed his true colors at the time. And you show what you’re really about in that time and at that moment. … No, you showed what you really are.”
Below is a clip of the incident.
A #Warriors fan got ejected during Game 3 for pushing Kyle Lowry ⬇️#NBAFinals | #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/xWfEu4gRaj
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 6, 2019
Follow Us
Subscribe