Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas could be fined and suspended after going into the stands during Saturday night’s game in Philadelphia writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. However, Thomas believes his actions were justified and said the league should support him.
The incident happened during a timeout with 2:53 left to play, shortly after Thomas made a free throw after missing the first one. Had he missed two in a row, all fans would have received a free Wendy’s Frosty. Thomas said one of the fans responded with an obscene gesture and repeated a profane phrase.
“In no way, shape or form that should be allowed,” he said after the game. “I’ve been in the league for a while. The fans (are) gonna say whatever they want. Don’t ever call me out of my name, because I would never do that to anybody else. I think that crossed the line. I got kids. I got a family. That’s not OK at all, so I just went to go tell him that (in) no disrespectful way, as calm as I am right now.”
One fan reportedly apologized when Thomas confronted him and said, “I just wanted a Frosty.” He and another fan were ordered to leave the arena, and Thomas was ejected from the game. He said both fans seemed “clearly drunk,” and a security guard added that they had been targeting Thomas all night.
There has been no word from the NBA on what Thomas’ punishment might be, but Katz points out that the league has been very sensitive about players going into the stands for any reason since “Malice in the Palace” in Detroit in 2004. Thomas said he remained controlled as he approached the fans, and several of his teammates supported his version of events.
Katz notes that the NBA has experienced a recent string of uncomfortable fan interactions. A Warriors fan and a former minority owner pushed Kyle Lowry during the NBA Finals, and Russell Westbrook confronted a fan in Utah last season who allegedly made a racially charged comment.
“The league knows I did nothing wrong. I didn’t disrespect anybody,” Thomas said. “As a man, I went and looked him in the eye and told him that was not OK. I didn’t scare nobody. I didn’t even use a curse word. So when the league investigates, I’m going to tell them the exact same thing, and hopefully, they should understand it.”
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