Hornets wing Miles Bridges wasn’t happy with himself after losing to the Hawks in the play-in game.
Bridges, who is reportedly expected to earn a max contract this offseason, was ejected in the fourth quarter for arguing a goaltending call. The 24-year-old was upset with the decision, and as he made his way to the locker room, fans in Atlanta made it no easier.
When one fan at State Farm Arena taunted him particularly aggressively, Bridges momentarily gave in to his frustration and threw his mouthguard into the crowd, which was captured by cameras as he headed into the tunnel:
Miles Bridges was ejected after arguing this goaltend call. pic.twitter.com/ijvc7SxlNF
— ESPN (@espn) April 14, 2022
That’s obviously not a great look, but to make matters worse, his toss then inadvertently made contact with a 16-year-old girl who was minding her own business.
If you didn’t see what happened, you can watch it in slow-mo here.
After the game, Bridges offered an explanation as to what happened:
Miles Bridges postgame about throwing his mouthpiece at a fan & accidentally hitting a 16-year-old girl
"That was definitely wrong. Hopefully I can get in contact with the young girl & sincerely apologize & do something nice for her. That's on me."pic.twitter.com/sESgUvgadD
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 14, 2022
“I let my temper get the best of me. That was definitely the wrong thing to do by throwing my mouthpiece. I was aiming for the guy that was screaming me and it hit the little girl. So that’s definitely unacceptable on my part and I take full responsibility. I’m ready for any consequence that the NBA gives me but that’s on me. That’s out of character for me … I don’t act like that.”
Bridges said that he was especially upset that this happened during one of the biggest games of his career, and he was frustrated that this gave a bad image to his name.
During the press conference, he said he hopes to right his wrongs:
“That was definitely wrong, a lot of emotions, and hopefully, I can get in contact with the young girl and sincerely apologize to her and do something nice for her. That’s definitely on me.”
In an effort to do exactly that, Bridges took to Twitter to begin the pursuit:
Somebody get me in contact with the young lady. That’s unacceptable. https://t.co/MlLZjMgcBF
— Miles Bridges (@MilesBridges) April 14, 2022
Bridges’ actions weren’t great, but it’s good to see him own up to it.
Hopefully, the fan is able to see his remorse and forgive his mistake.
