Pacers fans react after LeBron James helped get 2 fans ejected
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — What exactly did two Indiana Pacers fans say Wednesday night that got them ejected from the game against the Los Angeles Lakers?
That’s the question blowing up on social media around the country, mainly because LeBron James asked for the fans to be removed.
Theories, some from people who claim to have been at the game, abound about what was said. The ejection of the fans happened with under 2-1/2 minutes left in overtime, after James asked the referee and Gainbridge Fieldhouse security to remove a man and woman sitting courtside.
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The woman’s face is a meme in the making: her sad look as she pretends to wipe tears from her eyes.
Their names are still not known publicly.
News 8 reached out to the Pacers for a statement, and they said: “Officials made the decision to remove the fans for violating the Fan Code of Conduct. Security helped remove the fans from the playing area without any further incident.”
A few basketball fans around the country have used social media to begin calling LeBron “LeSnitch.”
Wednesday night’s game was LeBron’s first after serving a one-game suspension for fighting.
After the Lakers’ win over the Pacers, James told the media, “Booing opponents and things of that nature or not wanting your opponents to be successful and then there’s moments where it goes outside the line without seeing gestures and words and that shouldn’t be tolerated in our game from nobody.”
Erick Marquez Jr. attended the game. “I said to myself, ‘Man, they must have said something that he didn’t like’ or they might have touched the basketball players or something like that, but I knew that when they got ejected that it wasn’t good.”
Marquez added, “Part of going to those games and what makes those games fun against our biggest rivals are that you get to heckle them and generally that heckling is within the confines and boundaries of basketball.”
Gus Ochoa, an Indianapolis resident, said about the fans, “We understand that point of view that you always try to feel like the players from the opposite team that they’re not welcome, but there are ways of doing it.”
Pacers fans have also expressed anger over LeBron’s celebration after hitting a game-sealing shot. He grabbed himself as he ran down the court.