Golden State Warriors part-owner Mark Stevens, who shoved Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry during the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night, has been banned from attending NBA games and Warriors team activities for one year and fined $500,000, the team and the NBA announced Thursday afternoon.
In a brief statement, the NBA said Stevens' ban would take effect immediately and carry through the entire 2019-2020 NBA season, including the playoffs.
In a statement Thursday evening, Stevens said he "fully" accepted the league's punishment.
"I take full responsibility for my actions last night at the NBA Finals and am embarrassed at what transpired," he said. "What I did was wrong and there is no excuse for it."
Stevens shoved Lowry after the player careened into the courtside seats while chasing a loose ball with 10:37 left in the game, which the Raptors won 123-109. Lowry told reporters after the game that Stevens made a vulgar comment to him as he shoved his left shoulder.
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"He had no reason to touch me," Lowry said. "He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me. There's no place for people like that in our league ... "Hopefully, he never comes back to an NBA game."
Referee Marc Davis, left, gesturing toward Mark Stevens, partially obscured in blue shirt, after the incident with Kyle Lowry. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
The NBA statement confirmed Stevens had used "obscene language" toward Lowry. It was not immediately clear what Stevens actually said.
The Warriors said in an earlier statement that Stevens, a venture capitalist who is listed in the team's media guide as an executive board member, would not attend any more games in the series. He was escorted from his courtside seat and out of Oracle Arena shortly after the incident.
In his statement, Stevens said he had reached out to Lowry to apologize, as well as "other members of the Raptors and Warriors organizations." He said he was "grateful to those who accepted my calls," but did not say if Lowry was among those he spoke to.
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"I hope that Mr. Lowry and others impacted by this lapse in judgment understand that the behavior I demonstrated last night does not reflect the person I am or have been throughout my life," Stevens said. "I made a mistake and I'm truly sorry. I need to be better and look forward to making it right."
"Mr. Stevens' behavior last night did not reflect the high standard that we hope to exemplify as an organization," the Warriors said in an earlier release. "We're extremely disappointed in his actions and, along with Mr. Stevens, offer our sincere apology to Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors organization for this unfortunate misconduct."
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NBA spokesman Mark Bass said Stevens' conduct was "beyond unacceptable and has no place in our league."
Warriors star Stephen Curry told reporters Thursday he did not know Stevens and said Lowry had reacted "correctly" to a "very unfortunate situation."Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said he too would apologize to Lowry and the Raptors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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