Knicks ban fan who spit on Trae Young: 'Completely unacceptable' behavior

Jacob Camenker

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Knicks ban fan who spit on Trae Young: 'Completely unacceptable' behavior image

The Knicks have banned a spectator from Madison Square Garden after the fan spit on Hawks player Trae Young on Wednesday night.

The team on Thursday released a statement on Twitter apologizing for the "completely unacceptable" behavior demonstrated by the fan.

The spitting incident came into focus after a video was posted on social media that apparently caught the spit flying out of the crowd to hit Young.

New York's action was certainly swift and decisive, so Young and the Hawks have to appreciate it. That should ensure that no over-the-line actions like this occur again.

MORE: Twitter roasts Bill de Blasio after he tells Hawks' Trae Young to 'play the right way'

In fact, Young was willing to laugh the incident off, and even asked 50 Cent, who was sitting courtside, whether he was "good" after the spit came flying in.

Of course, the Knicks faithful will continue to boo Young relentlessly after he made a last-second shot to beat New York at home in Game 1 and proceeded to shout a message to the Garden crowd. Young has embraced playing the villain role, and after being called out by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, he put forth a great effort for the Hawks (30 points, seven assists) in their Game 2 loss.

Young being spat on wasn't the only ugly incident between an NBA player and a fan Wednesday night. A 76ers fan poured popcorn on Russell Westbrook as he went to the locker room with an injury. Westbrook was irate and the fan was ejected from the game.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.