The Mavericks released a statement acknowledging that an incident involving the family of Suns point guard Chris Paul took place during Game 4 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday.
In the statement provided to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the team announced that there was an incident between a fan and Paul’s family. The fan was “swiftly” removed from the game, per the release.
“The Dallas Mavericks are aware of an incident between a fan and the family of Chris Paul. It was unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. The Mavericks, along with American Airlines Center, swiftly removed the fan from today’s game.”
News of the incident first came from Paul himself, who sent out an impassioned tweet after Phoenix’s 111–101 loss. The Suns point guard, who fouled out of the game with 8:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, reportedly spoke with security personnel near the team’s bench about the treatment that his family was receiving in the stands
A postgame report from McMenamin indicated that Paul’s mother, who was in the crowd Sunday, had hands put on her by Dallas fans. Paul’s wife was also reportedly pushed and followed up the aisle when she left her seat from behind the Suns’ bench.
Paul’s kids reportedly witnessed the entire incident and the entire group “felt very unsafe,” according to McMenamin.
The NBA has not released a statement regarding the incident as of Sunday night.
