ATLANTA — Miles Bridges called what he did Wednesday night “terrible” after he gave an unsuspecting Atlanta Hawks fan an unwanted souvenir.
Bridges, the Charlotte Hornets’ star forward, was ejected in the fourth quarter of the team’s 132-103 loss to the Hawks at State Farm Arena, and the home crowd let him hear it on his walk back to the locker room. But one fan, in particular, aggravated Bridges while leaving the floor.
Bridges stopped momentarily, took his mouthpiece and threw it with force at a man in a yellow ball cap standing above him. But Bridges’ throw missed and instead hit a girl two seats over in the left shoulder before it bounced into her face.
“I was upset about a call, a couple of calls really. I let my temper get the best of me. That was definitely the wrong thing to do,” Bridges said. “ ... I was aiming for the guy that was screaming at me and it hit a little girl ... I take full responsibility and will take any consequences the NBA gives me.
“ ... Hopefully, I can get in contact with the young lady, sincerely apologize and do something nice for her.”
The girl told The Charlotte Observer she was 16 years old but didn’t want to give her name, nor be interviewed about it. She didn’t know what she had been hit with, only that she had been hit with something. When The Observer pointed out the mouthpiece directly behind her and showed her a screenshot from the video, she seemed surprised.
The mouthpiece lay on the ground until the end of the game, as no one in the section wanted to touch it.
The fans near the throw had a few different words for Bridges’ act when talking about what happened: “Gross” was one, as was “nasty” and “dangerous.”
Hornets coach James Borrego said he wasn’t aware that Bridges hit someone and that it would be addressed. He called Bridges an “emotional” player.
Bridges was ejected with 6:39 remaining in and the Hornets down 112-81. Referee James Capers said “he was ejected because he used profanity directed at the official, and it was his second technical foul. By rule, that is an automatic ejection.”
