Suns forward Cameron Johnson shares a personal incident of fans misbehaving with his girlfriend during last year’s NBA Finals in Milwaukee.
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An untoward incident occurred on Sunday night during Game Four between the Suns and Mavericks in Dallas. According to reports, a couple of unruly fans at the American Airlines Center tried to lay their hands on veteran point guard Chris Paul’s family.
A source familiar with Chris Paul’s tweet after Game 4 told ESPN that Paul’s mother had hands put on her by Dallas fans and Paul’s wife was also pushed. To make matters worse, Paul’s kids witnessed it. “They felt very unsafe,” the source said.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 8, 2022
The security at the arena swiftly escorted the fans that had allegedly misbehaved with CP3’s family. The Suns superstar would vent out his frustration in a tweet, saying the following.
Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families….fuck that!!
— Chris Paul (@CP3) May 8, 2022
With the Mavericks promising immediate action on the situation, they would soon investigate the matter and release the following statement.
Statement from the Dallas Mavericks on the incident involving Chris Paul’s family and fans. Two fans, who gave unwanted hugs to Paul’s family, will be banned from American Airlines Center until 2023: pic.twitter.com/tDTVcD36uU
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 9, 2022
Recently, Paul’s teammate Cam Johnson narrated a similar instance of unruly behavior meted out to his girlfriend in the 2021 NBA Finals.
Cam Johnson’s girlfriend was the victim of a few fans’ disorderly conduct in Milwaukee.
With incidents of fans crossing the line with players and their families increasing daily, the NBA needs to come up with a strict mandate. Such kind of behavior is not only against the spirit of the game but also threatens the safety of players and their loved ones.
Unfortunately, fines and bans don’t seem to be working with events like this continuing to take place. Fans believe they can do or say anything they want without fearing repercussions. In light of the recent controversy involving CP3’s family, teammate Cam Johnson would share a similar experience.
Cam Johnson said last year during Game 3 of the Finals in Milwaukee his girlfriend had a towel thrown on her, got kneed in the back of her head and had beer spilled on her. His family didn’t see his dunk over P.J. Tucker because they were in the concessions dealing with it.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) May 9, 2022
Johnson said the Bucks did handle it. Fan was thrown out and banned. He didn’t even hear about it until after the game and was obviously very frustrated about his family having to deal with that harassment.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) May 9, 2022
It’s upsetting to see the family of players subjected to this kind of behavior, who come to see their loved ones play in one of the most popular basketball leagues in the world.
While fans form an integral part of a sport, it gives them no right to step out of line.
