We knew the vibes in Dallas were bad, but everything is out of control since the Luka Doncic trade. Protests and shrines built to Luka outside American Airlines Center have now taken twists and turns to fans being ejected for voicing their hatred of GM Nico Harrison.
Mavericks fan kicked out of game for yelling ‘FIRE NICO’ on jumbotron
The Mavs are spiraling out of control.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
On Monday night the jumbotron showed fans as part of a karaoke bit, before one man took his chance to clearly mouth “FIRE NICO.”
The camera quickly cut away, and within minutes security descended on the fan and escorted him out of the arena.
After this moment the team no longer showed any fans on the screen.
This wasn’t the only fan ejected from the arena on Monday night. Reports also detailed how more fans were forced to leave for slamming the team or Harrison — but the Mavericks response was wholly bizarre.
It’s one thing if fans wore profane shirts and were against policy. Is it being too sensitive? Probably, but at least there’s some justification. What’s unclear is if the team included the fan during the karaoke segment in this — because there’s no evidence he was wearing a garment or holding a sign about Nico. Video clearly shows him wearing a light-brown sweater throughout the incident, and unless the organization mistook “FIRE” for another f-word, there’s no example of profanity.
Just in case this couldn’t get weirder: Jason Kidd refused to speak to the media after the Mavs’ 129-128 overtime loss to the Kings. Then there’s the added layer that the organization told ESPN reporter Tim McMahon that they were being forced to add additional security, because Harrison had received death threats in the wake of the Doncic trade — only to have an independent reporter claim that he spoke to Dallas police and there’s no evidence on file that there had been any threats, as the team was claiming.
It’s impossible to remember a team in any sport garner this much hate and ill will because of one bad trade, then doubling-down on it to the point that they just kept digging deeper into despair.
One thing is clear: The drama surrounding the Luka Doncic trade isn’t going away any time soon, and it might just keep getting worse.
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