Bucks' Patrick Beverley: 'I was absolutely wrong' for throwing basketball at Pacers fans
Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley expressed remorse for an incident that occurred late during the Indiana Pacers’ series-clinching victory in the first round of the NBA playoffs in which Beverley twice chucked a basketball at a group of fans behind Milwaukee’s bench.
“Unfortunate situation that should’ve never happened,” Beverley said in a video published Tuesday that teased an episode of “The Pat Bev Podcast” that will publish Wednesday. “What I did was bad, and that should have never happened. I have to be better and I will be better. That should have never happened, regardless of what was said, simple as that.”
Bucks guard Patrick Beverley (21) during Game 6 against the Pacers.
With 2:32 left in the fourth quarter Thursday, Beverley threw a basketball into the stands, and the ball hit a fan in the head. Beverley asked for the ball back and then threw it with greater force back at another fan.
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Beverley sat down and exchanged words with another fan. Security intervened as Bucks players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, turned around to see what was happening.
Beverley did not divulge exactly what was said, but referenced multiple “crazy” comments that “crossed the line,” and said he confronted at least two fans who apologized for their alleged comments.
“Let’s just say it was more than ‘Cancun on three,’ ” Beverley said, referencing a popular troll often used against teams whose seasons have ended. “I’ve been called a lot of stuff in this league. I haven’t been called that one. Still inexcusable. It doesn’t matter what was said. …
“I’m not going to take away from the fans that were great. It was some people that took it a little bit too far. I’m here to set the record straight that I was absolutely wrong. I need to be better and I will.”
Beverley said he declined to take action after a security guard apparently approached him to ask if he wanted to get a fan kicked out of the game for comments the fan allegedly made.
Based on the video published Tuesday, however, it is unclear if Beverley will also address a different incident, a postgame interaction with an ESPN field producer, in which he asked her to leave an interview scrum because she didn’t subscribe to his podcast. The field producer, identified later as Malinda Adams, posted on social media and said Beverley and the Bucks organization called her to apologize.
Beverley, 35, just finished his 12th season in the NBA. Known as one of the fiercest defenders in the league, he averaged 6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in 73 appearances.
Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bucks’ Patrick Beverley: ‘I was absolutely wrong’ for throwing basketball at Pacers fans