NBA player Chris Paul experienced any player’s worst nightmare at a game that took place on Sunday, May 10–his family being harassed. This took place in Dallas during Game 4 of the second-round series between Paul’s Phoenix Suns and the Mavericks.
Luckily, the culprits were ejected, and Paul who is nicknamed “CP3,” was spotted saying “I’ll see you later!” as security escorted one of the individual’s out.
For those wondering what exactly took place, according to NBA reporter Dave McMenamin, Paul’s mother, Robin, was touched, and his wife, Jada was said to have been pushed. Unfortunately, this took place in front of the NBA star’s children whom the reporter said “felt very unsafe.”
Paul took to Twitter to express his outrage saying, “Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families….f— that!!”
The story continues to unfold as the Mavericks released a statement, telling their version of the story, and Paul’s mother shared her experience, too.
She told NBA on TNT’s Kenny Smith that a young male fan was inebriated when he repeatedly tapped her on the shoulder to say “Happy Mother’s Day.” He continued to do so even after she asked him not to.
In the account shared in the statement from the Mavericks, the fan and another individual, may have tried to go even further, seeking hugs.
“American Airlines Center and Dallas Mavericks security and executives have concluded the investigation in to the incident involving the Paul family. Two unruly fans attempted to give unwanted hugs and have conversations with members of the Paul family on the public concourse of American Airlines Center. AAC security responded immediately once notified by the family and the fans were swiftly ejected from the game. The fans involved in the incident will not be allowed to return to the arena until 2023.”
This isn’t the first instance where fans have exhibited unruly behavior at games—it appears to be an ongoing issue. For instance, just last year in Boston, a fan threw a water bottle at Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him by an individual in Philadelphia.
The solution is unclear, but players and their families deserve a safe space at games. Disrespect, harassment and/or assault are never ok, so we hope the league can come up with tangible and actionable solutions to deter future incidents like this one soon.