A man was tackled and apprehended after running on the court during the Philadelphia 76ers-Washington Wizards game on Monday (May 31) night, which served as the latest in a string of recent incidents involving bad behavior by fans during the NBA Playoffs.
NBC News reports Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns both the Wizards franchise and home arena, Capital One Arena, has permanently banned the man.
"Monumental Sports & Entertainment has a zero tolerance policy when fans violate our code of conduct at Capital One Arena," the company announced via Twitter. "During this evening's game, a fan was apprehended by Capital One Arena Special Police after attempting to breach the court. He will be banned from the arena and charges are being pursued with [the Metropolitan Police Department]."
DC Metro Police did not respond to NBC News' request for comment regarding possible charges as of Monday night.
The Wizards began the 2020-21 season without fans in attendance and gradually increased capacity amid changing COVID-19 restrictions. On Monday, Capitol One Arena hosted 10,665 fans, roughly 50% of capacity, according to the Associated Press.
The Wizards defeated the 76ers, 122-114, in Game 4 on Monday, earning their first victory of the series.
The incident in Washington comes after a Boston Celtics fan was arrested and accused of throwing a water bottle at Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving during Game 4 between the Nets and Celtics at TD Garden in Boston on Sunday.
On Wednesday, a 76ers fan threw popcorn at Wizards guard Russell Westbrook as he was exiting Game 1 of the Wizards-Sixers series in Philadelphia. A separate incident also occurred that same night in which a fan in attendance for the New York Knicks' Game 2 home victory against the Atlanta Hawks was seen spitting on Hawks point guard Trae Young during an inbound play.
All three prior incidents have also resulted in the fans being banned from the respective arenas.
"To be completely honest, this s--- is getting out of hand, especially for me. The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f--- they want to do -- it's just out of pocket," Westbrook said via ESPN last week. "There are certain things that cross the line. Any other setting ... a guy were to come up on the street and pour popcorn on my head, you know what happens.
"In these arenas, you got to start protecting the players. We'll see what the NBA does."
Wizards teammate Bradley Beal called the incident involving Westbrook last week "disgusting" and head coach Scott Brooks, who had also previously coached Westbrook during his first seven seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, called for the fan to be banned prior to the Sixers' decision.
"Very disrespectful. Philadelphia is better than that," Brooks said
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