NBA player sued for throwing basketball at Pacers fans who allegedly spouted racial slurs

Former NBA guard Patrick Beverley is being sued for a 2024 incident where he threw a basketball at the opposing team's fans.

The incident occurred when Beverley was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs last May. Toward the end of Game 5, the Bucks were on their way out of the playoffs as the Pacers were ahead in the series 3-2 and had a 20-point lead with a little over two minutes left in the game.

As the Bucks made a substitution, cameras caught Beverley throwing a basketball into a group of Pacers fans that hit one on the side of the head. Beverley appeared to ask for the ball back before throwing it harder at one of the fans, but this fan was looking as the ball was thrown, and it hit him in the hands.

This caused surrounding fans to become upset while Beverley's teammates apprehended him and got him to sit down. Police intervened in the situation as fans and Beverley seemingly exchanged words, but it was unclear what was said.

Two of the fans have filed a lawsuit, according to Sports Illustrated, with a claim of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and invasion of privacy. Former Bucks assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer is also reportedly named in the court document.

'Not Fair at all.'

While it is not clear what the plaintiffs were referring to with their defamation claim, it may have been in regard to the fact that Beverley reportedly claimed he dealt with racial slurs from the crowd throughout the game.

Beverley responded to video of the incident at the time and said he and his team asked for help with the fans "all night."

"Not Fair at all," he wrote on X. "Exchanged between a fan and our ball club all night. We warned and asked for help all night. Not fair."

Beverley was ultimately suspended by the NBA for four games but never served them due to signing with a professional basketball team in Tel Aviv. The 36-year-old was also recently suspended indefinitely by that team following a loss in the Israeli Championship.

"Player Patrick Beverley has been suspended by the team until further notice," the team announced, per EuroHoops. Coach Dimitris Itoudis said he didn't have to give an explanation for not playing Beverley in the second half.

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