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The relationship between fans and players was the main point of discussion this postseason. Both Draymond Green and Kyrie Irving have been fined for giving middle ground to road fans alone in these playoffs, and now Chris Paul is dealing with a somewhat similar situation.
A Dallas fan was kicked out of Game 4 of their second-round series between Paul’s Phoenix Suns and the Mavericks, and while escorted, Paul was seen in a video telling him “I’ll see you later.” It is too early for the league to issue any discipline at the moment and it is unclear whether they will do so.
Although it was not clear at the time why Paul was so upset, Dave McMenamine did his best to explain it after the match. He said a Dallas fan had laid his hands on Paul’s mother and that his wife had also been pushed. Paul’s children were also present, and according to McMenamin’s source, “they felt very insecure.”
Paul repeated these sentiments on Twitter after the match. “I want to fine the players for saying things to the fans, but the fans can lend a hand to our families … well — that !!!” Paul writes.
Paul is a former president of the NBA Players’ Association, although his term has ended. How exactly the league and the union could solve these problems is not clear, but in the last few seasons there have been a number of high-profile incidents of bad behavior of fans. A Boston fan threw a bottle of water at Irving in the 2021 postseason.
Others have been accused of racist speech against players. This has become one of the biggest problems in all of basketball, and while fans are kicked out for it, players are often faced with discipline just to answer. Paul is obviously disappointed with this state of affairs, and if the league does not give players a place to react, they need to do a better job of preventing these incidents.
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