Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens has been banned from attending games and team activities for one year and fined $500,000 for shoving Raptors guard Kyle Lowry during Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the league announced Thursday.
The NBA AND the Warriors have banned Mark Stevens for 1 year & fined him $500k for shoving Kyle Lowry last night. pic.twitter.com/Csqwi2Lb7Q
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 6, 2019
“A team representative must be held to the highest possible standard,” the league said in an earlier statement. “The conduct of Golden State Warriors investor Mark Stevens last night was beyond unacceptable and has no place in our league.”
The incident occurred early in the fourth quarter when Lowry dove into the crowd. Stevens reached over and pushed the guard before the two exchanged words. He was then ejected from the stadium.
It turns out the “fan” that pushed Kyle Lowry is actually part-owner Mark Stevens. What should the punishment be? #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/9ebIk4sxHU
— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) June 6, 2019
Golden State went on to lose 123-109 and now trails Toronto in the series, 2-1.
“There's no place for that,” Lowry told reporters Wednesday. “He had no reason to touch me. He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me. There's no place for people like that in our league.”
Lowry called for Stevens’ ban to be permanent when he met with reporters one day after the game.
Reporter: "Can you confirm what the guy said to you, 'to go blank yourself' is that accurate?"
— ESPN (@espn) June 6, 2019
Kyle Lowry: "Yeah. Multiple times." pic.twitter.com/6btM0qs8qw
“More should be done,” Lowry said, via the Washington Post. “He's not a good look for the ownership group they have. A guy like that showing his true class, he shouldn't be a part of our league. There's no place for that."
Stevens apologized for his actions in a statement later Thursday.
“I take full responsibility for my actions (Wednesday) at the NBA Finals and am embarrassed by what transpired,” Stevens’ statement read, in part. “What I did was wrong and there is no excuse for it. Mr. Lowry deserves better, and I have reached out today in an attempt to directly apologize.
“I hope the Mr. Lowry and others impacted by this lapse in judgment understand that the behavior I demonstrated last night (Wednesday) does not reflect the person I am or have been throughout my life. I made a mistake and I’m truly sorry.”
Here’s a statement from Mark Stevens on his actions last night: pic.twitter.com/p1msH4Pj8y
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) June 6, 2019
The Warriors will host the Raptors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET.