The Dallas Mavericks’ management mishandled the Luka Dončić trade from the start. Now the Mavericks appear to be ejecting fans from games who do not support their decision.
Dallas has spent the last two weeks talking poorly about Dončić and his work ethic to justify this shocking trade to fans. However, these attempts to justify their decision have fallen short, as many fans are still protesting the decision.
Initial protests regarding the trade occurred outside of American Airlines Center near the statue of Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, but those peaceful protests have shifted inside during games.
Rather than understanding the pain Mavericks fans are dealing with, the organization has elected to eject fans who root against the decision.
Dallas recently ejected multiple fans during a home game against the Sacramento Kings after the fans presented the words “Fire Nico.”
The first ejection came when a man was put on the video board to sing along with a song, choosing to mouth the words “Fire Nico” instead.
This same fan was also seen during the game holding part of a sign with “Fire Nico” written on it.
Security quickly confronted the man and escorted him out of the arena, with the organization claiming that he violated the NBA Code of Conduct.
The second ejection came during the same game when a fan near the court shouted, “Fire Nico. ” This prompted Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban to tell the fans to “shut the f— up and sit the f— down,” per NBC 5 DFW.
Cuban claimed that the fans were booing the game, which was not a big deal, but these comments were seemingly false as security also escorted them out of the arena due to the interaction.
The Mavericks claimed after the game that each fan violated the NBA Code of Conduct, and the ejections were justified for this reason.
“In the first incident, the guest brought in a sign that broke the following rule included in the NBA Code of Conduct: Clothing, garments or signs displaying explicit language, profanity or derogatory characterization towards any person(s),” stated the organization, per NBC 5.
“In the 2nd incident, the fan wore a t-shirt that also broke the rule above and was also intoxicated, disruptive and uncooperative, all listed in the NBA Fan Code of Conduct.”
Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison has been under scrutiny since trading away Dončić, and his statements on the 25-year-old have caused even more confusion among team fans.
Harrison commented on the trade shortly after it was completed and said that the organization had “major concerns” about Dončić’s conditioning, prompting the team to trade the 25-year-old superstar.
Many fans and players within the league have expressed confusion with these claims, as Dončić has proven to be one of the NBA’s fiercest competitors and seemingly had the support of nearly everyone within the Mavericks’ organization before the trade.