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Tim MacMahon
DALLAS — With emotions from the Luka Doncic trade still raw, multiple fans were ejected in the second half of the Dallas Mavericks‘ 129-128 home loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday at the American Airlines Center due to violations of the NBA’s code of conduct, according to a team spokesperson.
Each instance prompted boos from the crowd. Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, whose family purchased the majority share of the franchise from Mark Cuban last season, also was loudly booed when he returned to his courtside seat with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Two of the fans held large poster board signs that read, “FIRE NICO” — a reference to Dallas general manager Nico Harrison. One of those men was seen mouthing “fire Nico” on the arena video screens earlier in the game before the camera quickly panned out.
“In the first incident, the guest brought in a sign that broke the following rule included in the NBA Code of Conduct: Clothing, garments or signs displaying explicit language, profanity or derogatory characterization towards any person(s),” Mavericks vice president of corporate communications Erin Finegold said in a statement released to reporters.
Harrison has been subjected to harsh backlash since agreeing to the shocking blockbuster deal that was built around sending five-time first-team All-NBA selection Doncic, 25, to the Los Angeles Lakers and bringing 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis, 31, to Dallas.
Approximately 1,000 people held a protest outside the American Airlines Center before Saturday’s home win over the Houston Rockets. “Fire Nico” and “Sell the Team” were common themes for chants and T-shirts.
Harrison, who did not attend Saturday’s game, was in the arena Monday night but did not sit in his usual seat in the lower bowl of the stands.
Arena security has been strictly enforcing NBA rules limiting the size of fans’ signs since the trade.
Two men, including one who wore Doncic’s Slovenian national team jersey, were ejected late in the game after a shouting with Cuban, who was in his regular baseline seat by the Mavericks’ bench.
“Shut the f— up and sit the f— down!” Cuban yelled, according to footage a fan showed to ESPN.
Cuban told ESPN that the fans, whose seats were approximately 20 rows behind him, were yelling “Fire Nico!” while the Mavericks were shooting free throws and again during a critical possession late in regulation. Cuban said he did not curse until the fans pointed and shouted at him, although he did not know what they said.
“In the second incident, the fan wore a T-shirt that also broke the rule [cited] and was also intoxicated, disruptive and uncooperative, all listed in the NBA Fan Code of Conduct,” Finegold said in the statement.
Other fans told ESPN that one of the ejected fans wore a T-shirt that depicted a woman’s face with a clown nose. They could not clearly identify the woman.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd did not hold a postgame press conference, as required by league rules.
Dallas guard Klay Thompson said he could “understand [fans’] frustration because Luka was that great and he was homebred here.” Thompson did not notice the fans being ejected, but he said their emotional reaction to the trade does not bother him.
“It’s not our job to get deflated because people are upset,” Thompson said. “Our job is to convince them that there’s really great days ahead, not just for this year but for the next few years.
“I mean, people are going to say stuff and that’s understandable. I was a fan, still a fan. If I didn’t agree with a trade, I’d probably voice my opinion, too. That’s the beauty of sports. You go there to yell and be rambunctious sometimes.”
Mavericks star Kyrie Irving said he felt that Dallas fans have “graduated from hate to anger to the cycle of emotions … and then the passion.”
“You just got to give everybody grace,” Irving said. “To see the emotions come out like that over basketball, that just shows you that basketball is not just a game to certain people. It’s a spiritual experience. It’s a connector piece, and they watch their favorite players and they want to see them forever. So I run the side of just understanding where people are coming from.”
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