[JustAnotherFan]

Mark Stevens, a Golden State Warrior investor, a billionaire venture capitalist at Sequoia, a USC and Harvard Business School grad gets a measly 1-year ban from the NBA for assaulting (legal definition) Kyle Lowry last night in the NBA finals. What a pathetic and weak move by the NBA. He should have been banned for life. And I think it is safe to say that if it was someone from a vastly different income bracket or racial category that there would probably be some criminal charges coming, as well.

Stanford connection is that this clown is a lecturer at the Business School.  

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2691...ving-lowry

[JustAnotherFan]

Mark Stevens, a Golden State Warrior investor, a billionaire venture capitalist at Sequoia, a USC and Harvard Business School grad gets a measly 1-year ban from the NBA for assaulting (legal definition) Kyle Lowry last night in the NBA finals. What a pathetic and weak move by the NBA. He should have been banned for life. And I think it is safe to say that if it was someone from a vastly different income bracket or racial category that there would probably be some criminal charges coming, as well.

Stanford connection is that this clown is a lecturer at the Business School.  

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2691...ving-lowry

[Griffins78]

Mark Stevens, a Golden State Warrior investor, a billionaire venture capitalist at Sequoia, a USC and Harvard Business School grad gets a measly 1-year ban from the NBA for assaulting (legal definition) Kyle Lowry last night in the NBA finals. What a pathetic and weak move by the NBA. He should have been banned for life. And I think it is safe to say that if it was someone from a vastly different income bracket or racial category that there would probably be some criminal charges coming, as well.

Stanford connection is that this clown is a lecturer at the Business School.  

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2691...ving-lowry

I think as a part-owner of the Warriors he should be held to a higher standard than the average fan. I also think it's a category that should be held to a higher standard than players. I think a year sounds reasonable with the $500K fine, but think there should be a probation period before he gets to sit on the floor again. He should prove he can be trusted by sitting and behaving properly for a long time.

[Griffins78]

Mark Stevens, a Golden State Warrior investor, a billionaire venture capitalist at Sequoia, a USC and Harvard Business School grad gets a measly 1-year ban from the NBA for assaulting (legal definition) Kyle Lowry last night in the NBA finals. What a pathetic and weak move by the NBA. He should have been banned for life. And I think it is safe to say that if it was someone from a vastly different income bracket or racial category that there would probably be some criminal charges coming, as well.

Stanford connection is that this clown is a lecturer at the Business School.  

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2691...ving-lowry

I think as a part-owner of the Warriors he should be held to a higher standard than the average fan. I also think it's a category that should be held to a higher standard than players. I think a year sounds reasonable with the $500K fine, but think there should be a probation period before he gets to sit on the floor again. He should prove he can be trusted by sitting and behaving properly for a long time.

[martyup]

Really not much of a shove.  He obviously was caught up in the heat of the game.  The foul language after the shove was clearly over the top.  I think his punishment was appropriate.

[martyup]

Really not much of a shove.  He obviously was caught up in the heat of the game.  The foul language after the shove was clearly over the top.  I think his punishment was appropriate.

[winflop]

I don't think he should have been banned for life, but 1 year seems too light - should have been 2 or 3.

[winflop]

I don't think he should have been banned for life, but 1 year seems too light - should have been 2 or 3.

[82lsju]

I wonder what penalty Lowry would have gotten if he had given an unprovoked shove to Stevens......

[82lsju]

I wonder what penalty Lowry would have gotten if he had given an unprovoked shove to Stevens......

[JustAnotherFan]

I wonder what penalty Lowry would have gotten if he had given an unprovoked shove to Stevens......

Exactly.

[JustAnotherFan]

I wonder what penalty Lowry would have gotten if he had given an unprovoked shove to Stevens......

Exactly.

[2006alum]

I’ll be honest - the first time I watched the video I thought I’d missed the shove. That was it? I’ve been pushed harder playing soccer as a 6-year-old. What he did was definitely not classy, but the act itself was so petty and lame it is barely worth mentioning. Lowry gets hit harder going for a rebound about 30 times a game.

[2006alum]

I’ll be honest - the first time I watched the video I thought I’d missed the shove. That was it? I’ve been pushed harder playing soccer as a 6-year-old. What he did was definitely not classy, but the act itself was so petty and lame it is barely worth mentioning. Lowry gets hit harder going for a rebound about 30 times a game.

[FarmBoy]

I’ll be honest - the first time I watched the video I thought I’d missed the shove. That was it? I’ve been pushed harder playing soccer as a 6-year-old. What he did was definitely not classy, but the act itself was so petty and lame it is barely worth mentioning. Lowry gets hit harder going for a rebound about 30 times a game.

I get pushed harder by my 6 year old daughter when we're rough housing. The difference is that during the game, Lowry is anticipating getting hit when he goes in the lane. So it's not something you can compare with him being pushed by a fan when he's trying to untangle.

While the push was slight, there should be a zero tolerance policy of fans initiating contact with players. Their bodies are their livelihood.

[FarmBoy]

I’ll be honest - the first time I watched the video I thought I’d missed the shove. That was it? I’ve been pushed harder playing soccer as a 6-year-old. What he did was definitely not classy, but the act itself was so petty and lame it is barely worth mentioning. Lowry gets hit harder going for a rebound about 30 times a game.

I get pushed harder by my 6 year old daughter when we're rough housing. The difference is that during the game, Lowry is anticipating getting hit when he goes in the lane. So it's not something you can compare with him being pushed by a fan when he's trying to untangle.

While the push was slight, there should be a zero tolerance policy of fans initiating contact with players. Their bodies are their livelihood.

[cardcrimson]

I’ll be honest - the first time I watched the video I thought I’d missed the shove. That was it? I’ve been pushed harder playing soccer as a 6-year-old. What he did was definitely not classy, but the act itself was so petty and lame it is barely worth mentioning. Lowry gets hit harder going for a rebound about 30 times a game.

After listening to the commentary on sports radio, it sure sounded like Lowry was punched in the face. Very surprised by the video. Unacceptable, but pretty lame "shove".

On another note, so glad Queen James weighed in on the topic. Always gotta be a part of the finals, even if he's not playing.

[cardcrimson]

I’ll be honest - the first time I watched the video I thought I’d missed the shove. That was it? I’ve been pushed harder playing soccer as a 6-year-old. What he did was definitely not classy, but the act itself was so petty and lame it is barely worth mentioning. Lowry gets hit harder going for a rebound about 30 times a game.

After listening to the commentary on sports radio, it sure sounded like Lowry was punched in the face. Very surprised by the video. Unacceptable, but pretty lame "shove".

On another note, so glad Queen James weighed in on the topic. Always gotta be a part of the finals, even if he's not playing.

[M T]

MLB & NBA & NCAA should establish policies, including possible during-game and post-game penalties, about players' actions that are dangerous to spectators and players.   My opinion is that a batter whose bat goes into the crowd should be called out immediately, and possibly fined heavily.   A basketball player that jumps into the crowd, leaving the floor and falling onto spectators should at the very least receive a technical foul and a fine.   Penalties for repeated offenses should be escalated.  If this means that teams have to remove seating within 15' of the court, then that should be done for the protection of the player and the fans.

Any claim that this one-handed push was more dangerous to Lowry than an insult seems false to me.  I can not conceive of any way that push could be considered dangerous (anyone think it could even have caused a bruise?), while the headlong rush into the crowd could easily have resulted in broken bones, concussions, eye damage, etc. to player and spectators.  Lowry knocked the woman in yellow in the second row backwards and off her feet.  IMO, the player's anger seemed to be of the variety "I did something I shouldn't have, so I'll yell at some one to distract blame from me".  Seems like the NBA has focused on anyone-but-the-player.

There seems to be an unspoken assumption that the person seated courtside reacted this way because he was emotionally connected with the opposing team.  I would not be surprised by anyone reacting with a push in response to a threat of bodily harm to me or mine.  Fortunately, the woman next to Stevens had stood up or else she would have had Lowry's knee to her head.

Best view I've seen:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG1c9-pr...utu.be&t=9
(Oh good, the link doesn't get translated to an inline video.)

I never thought about where the term "cager" came from.

[M T]

MLB & NBA & NCAA should establish policies, including possible during-game and post-game penalties, about players' actions that are dangerous to spectators and players.   My opinion is that a batter whose bat goes into the crowd should be called out immediately, and possibly fined heavily.   A basketball player that jumps into the crowd, leaving the floor and falling onto spectators should at the very least receive a technical foul and a fine.   Penalties for repeated offenses should be escalated.  If this means that teams have to remove seating within 15' of the court, then that should be done for the protection of the player and the fans.

Any claim that this one-handed push was more dangerous to Lowry than an insult seems false to me.  I can not conceive of any way that push could be considered dangerous (anyone think it could even have caused a bruise?), while the headlong rush into the crowd could easily have resulted in broken bones, concussions, eye damage, etc. to player and spectators.  Lowry knocked the woman in yellow in the second row backwards and off her feet.  IMO, the player's anger seemed to be of the variety "I did something I shouldn't have, so I'll yell at some one to distract blame from me".  Seems like the NBA has focused on anyone-but-the-player.

There seems to be an unspoken assumption that the person seated courtside reacted this way because he was emotionally connected with the opposing team.  I would not be surprised by anyone reacting with a push in response to a threat of bodily harm to me or mine.  Fortunately, the woman next to Stevens had stood up or else she would have had Lowry's knee to her head.

Best view I've seen:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG1c9-pr...utu.be&t=9
(Oh good, the link doesn't get translated to an inline video.)

I never thought about where the term "cager" came from.

[martyup]

That lady in seat 76 got hammered much harder than the push.  Perhaps Stevens was reacting to the apparent damage/injury Lowry had inflicted to the lady in 76 or the man in front of her.  Lowry really did disregard the risk to the fans in going for that ball.  I agree that the league should enact rules that would protect fans on the floor.

[martyup]

That lady in seat 76 got hammered much harder than the push.  Perhaps Stevens was reacting to the apparent damage/injury Lowry had inflicted to the lady in 76 or the man in front of her.  Lowry really did disregard the risk to the fans in going for that ball.  I agree that the league should enact rules that would protect fans on the floor.

[ColoradoTree]

That lady in seat 76 got hammered much harder than the push.  Perhaps Stevens was reacting to the apparent damage/injury Lowry had inflicted to the lady in 76 or the man in front of her.  Lowry really did disregard the risk to the fans in going for that ball.  I agree that the league should enact rules that would protect fans on the floor.

I don't blame Lowry here at all. Where the league and the individual team have offered seats for sale to fans to be courtside and "part of the action," they have created the risk of players doing their jobs and running into a fan. When fans choose to buy those seats, then I think each fan in those seats has assumed the risk of a player falling on them in the process of diving for a loose ball. It is most definitely not the player's obligation to refrain from diving to keep a ball alive because he might run into the fan. 

Diving for loose balls is part of the game. A rich fan sitting courtside is not, by itself, part of the game. Those things that are not part of the game must yield to those that are part of the game. Having setbacks so that "courtside" means "just a little less close to the court than the seats are now" doesn't seem like a bad idea to me at all--I just think it's the league and team who created the risk, and the fan who assumed it, so the onus is on the league/team to change conditions or assess risk, not on the player to change behavior. Certainly preferable to policing whether a player is allowed to dive into the stands to try and keep a play alive. After all, we're here to watch incredibly athletic people do incredibly athletic things. 

And while the shove wasn't all that terrible, it still crossed a line, especially when paired with cussing out Lowry, as he said Stevens did. When a player dives onto you, I think helping him up, patting him on the back, and other contact incidental to the fact that another human just landed on or just near you, is on the "no problem" side of the line. But Stevens looked mad, and he pushed him in apparent anger when Lowry wasn't even on him. You just don't get to do that to the players people paid to see. Shower them with boos, sure. Insult them when they miss a shot. That's all well and good. But fans don't get to push players! (Players don't get to push fans, either. But they get to do their jobs, which include diving for loose balls.)

Interestingly, the woman who vacated the seat, and the man sitting to her left, seemed to handle this just right. She stayed out of the way, and patted his back as he was getting back up. The guy seemed to be holding Lowry's jersey to help him get back up (or keep him from falling farther, not totally sure), and then he let go and patted him on the back when he was upright again. 

(FYI, I think baseball teams should extend netting to cover more of the stadium. What happened to that poor kid the other day when Almora, Jr. fouled a liner into the stands just shouldn't happen. Everyone will adjust to the netting just like hockey fans did.)

[ColoradoTree]

That lady in seat 76 got hammered much harder than the push.  Perhaps Stevens was reacting to the apparent damage/injury Lowry had inflicted to the lady in 76 or the man in front of her.  Lowry really did disregard the risk to the fans in going for that ball.  I agree that the league should enact rules that would protect fans on the floor.

I don't blame Lowry here at all. Where the league and the individual team have offered seats for sale to fans to be courtside and "part of the action," they have created the risk of players doing their jobs and running into a fan. When fans choose to buy those seats, then I think each fan in those seats has assumed the risk of a player falling on them in the process of diving for a loose ball. It is most definitely not the player's obligation to refrain from diving to keep a ball alive because he might run into the fan. 

Diving for loose balls is part of the game. A rich fan sitting courtside is not, by itself, part of the game. Those things that are not part of the game must yield to those that are part of the game. Having setbacks so that "courtside" means "just a little less close to the court than the seats are now" doesn't seem like a bad idea to me at all--I just think it's the league and team who created the risk, and the fan who assumed it, so the onus is on the league/team to change conditions or assess risk, not on the player to change behavior. Certainly preferable to policing whether a player is allowed to dive into the stands to try and keep a play alive. After all, we're here to watch incredibly athletic people do incredibly athletic things. 

And while the shove wasn't all that terrible, it still crossed a line, especially when paired with cussing out Lowry, as he said Stevens did. When a player dives onto you, I think helping him up, patting him on the back, and other contact incidental to the fact that another human just landed on or just near you, is on the "no problem" side of the line. But Stevens looked mad, and he pushed him in apparent anger when Lowry wasn't even on him. You just don't get to do that to the players people paid to see. Shower them with boos, sure. Insult them when they miss a shot. That's all well and good. But fans don't get to push players! (Players don't get to push fans, either. But they get to do their jobs, which include diving for loose balls.)

Interestingly, the woman who vacated the seat, and the man sitting to her left, seemed to handle this just right. She stayed out of the way, and patted his back as he was getting back up. The guy seemed to be holding Lowry's jersey to help him get back up (or keep him from falling farther, not totally sure), and then he let go and patted him on the back when he was upright again. 

(FYI, I think baseball teams should extend netting to cover more of the stadium. What happened to that poor kid the other day when Almora, Jr. fouled a liner into the stands just shouldn't happen. Everyone will adjust to the netting just like hockey fans did.)