Jun 22, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers (22) dribbles against the Golden State Valkyries during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Sun's Saniya Rivers Sets Record Straight on Interaction With Ejected Fan vs Fever

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 12:18 AM ET

The Connecticut Sun fell to 3-19 on the 2025 WNBA regular season after losing to the Indiana Fever by a score of 85-77 on July 15.

There was a lot of intrigue heading into this game, as it marked the second time that a WNBA contest was played in Boston's TD Garden Arena, which is the home of the Boston Celtics' iconic NBA franchise.

Unfortunately, a disappointing moment involving a fan occurred at one point in the game, which involved Sun rookie Saniya Rivers.

Chloe Peterson of IndyStar made an X post during that game that showed a video of a fan who had been sitting close to the court being escorted out by security with the caption, "Saniya Rivers went to the sideline to inbound the ball after a timeout, then stepped away and had a passionate conversation with the refs.

"It resulted with a fan sitting courtside getting ejected, and fans waved goodbye to him as he walked up the stairs."

Rivers can be seen in the video watching the fan leave, who was getting booed by other fans nearby.

Saniya Rivers went to the sideline to inbound the ball after a timeout, then stepped away and had a passionate conversation with the refs.

It resulted with a fan sitting courtside getting ejected, and fans waved goodbye to him as he walked up the stairs. pic.twitter.com/uy9GIb0OtE
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) July 16, 2025

There was initially no knowledge of what the fan did to get ejected, and how it involved Rivers. However, an X post by Sun sideline reporter Terrika Foster-Brasby alleged the ejection happened due to the fan touching Rivers.

A fan was escorted out of TD Garden for TOUCHING Saniya Rivers. She called it out immediately and he was escorted up the stairs and out. The fan appears to be an Indiana fan, as he was wearing a Fever tee and was seated courtside next to the CT player bench. #WNBA
— Terrika (@SheKnowsSports) July 16, 2025

But after the game, the Sun's PR team came out saying that Rivers was not touched, which means that Foster-Brasby's report was inaccurate. And Emily Adams of the Hartford Courant confirmed this while adding extra context about Rivers' reaction to the whole incident postgame.

"Update via Saniya Rivers: The ejected fan did NOT touch her, he made a comment that warranted ejection. Rivers was in great spirits about it, joked that he wasted all that money on a seat just to get tossed," Adams' post wrote.

Update via Saniya Rivers: The ejected fan did NOT touch her, he made a comment that warranted ejection. Rivers was in great spirits about it, joked that he wasted all that money on a seat just to get tossed.
— Emily Adams (@eaadams6) July 16, 2025

It's good to see that Rivers wasn't still upset over what occurred postgame, despite the fan obviously being out of line.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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