Jun 24, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (left) and second baseman Ketel Marte (right) celebrate after defeating the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

Knicks Star Supports Diamondbacks Infielder After Fan Harassment

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Magliocchetti | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 3:00 PM ET

New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns offered a special assists to another athlete in the wake of an unfortunate incident.

Towns is one of the latest to offer support to Arizona Diamondbacks baseball All-Star Ketel Marte after the latter was at the center of an unfortunate incident involving a fan: during Tuesday night's game against the Chicago White Sox, a fan was thrown out of Rate Field for making comments about his late mother Elpidia, who passed away in a car accident in 2017.

Towns, who lost his mother Jacqueline during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, put up an X post of encouragement for Marte, a fellow sports star of Dominican descent.

Some things should never be said. @ketel_marte4 your mother is proud, and so are we ❤️
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) June 26, 2025

"Some things should never be said," Towns told the Nizao-born Marte, capping his Thursday morning post off with a heart and the flag of the Dominican Republic. "Your mother is proud, and so are we."

Never one to hide his Dominican heritage, Towns was close to his mother, who joined him in his Knicks fandom during his New Jersey-based upbringing. He notably dedicated one of his finest performances of his maiden metropolitan voyage, a 20-point fourth quarter in the Knicks' first Eastern Conference Finals victory since 2000, to Jacqueline. To top it all off, such an effort came on the DR's celebration of Mother's Day.

“My mom’s side of the family hit me up and told me they were going to be watching the game with my aunts,” Towns said after that triumph over the Indiana Pacers, per James Edwards III of The Athletic. “It just meant a lot that I was able to play on a day like today. Obviously, I didn’t know my mom was expecting a game like tonight, but I’m just happy that this team was able to get a win on her day.”

Marte was visibly emotional when the Diamondbacks took the field after the incident. Arizona manager Torrey Lovullo called for the fan's ejection and the offender has since been indefinitely banned from all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. The White Sox offered a message of support for Marte and fans engaged in a warm ovation during his first at-bat of Wednesday's game.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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