The Dallas Mavericks lost in overtime to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. The announced attendance for the game was 19,726, but there appeared to be a lot of empty seats. Especially by the end of the game. While some may have left early to join Dirk Nowitzki in watching Luka Dončić's Lakers debut on ESPN, others were asked to leave by security for various reasons.
Enough fans were ejected that it warranted an article on ESPN where Tim MacMahon confirmed that two fans were thrown out after minority owner Mark Cuban yelled at them to "Shut the f--- up and sit the f--- down!" One of the fans involved was wearing a t-shirt featuring owner Miram Adelson wearing a clown nose. He confirmed the story on X.
We were the one on @GrantAfseth 6 minute video not the sign people. We chanted “fire nico” and i was wearing this shirt
— KiddMuse (fire nico) (@KiddMuse_) February 11, 2025
They threw us out after mark cuban told us to “sit down and shut the fuck up” bout 7 times pic.twitter.com/cQBG1x5UKY
Here's Cuban's side of the story, via ESPN:
Two men, including one who wore Dončić's Slovenian national team jersey, were ejected late in Monday's contest after a shouting match with Cuban, who was in his regular baseline seat by the Mavericks' bench.
"Shut the f--- up and sit the f--- down!" Cuban yelled, according to footage a fan showed to ESPN.
Cuban told ESPN that the fans, whose seats were approximately 20 rows behind him, were yelling, "Fire Nico!" while the Mavericks were shooting free throws and again during a critical possession late in regulation. Cuban said he did not curse until the fans pointed and shouted at him, although he did not know what they said.
Other people who were ejected included the guy who mouthed "Fire Nico" on the jumbotron during a fan karaoke segment.
In addition to kicking out fans who voiced their displeasure with the Luka Dončić trade, Nico Harrison did not sit in his usual seat and Jason Kidd skipped his press conference. Combine that with the fans protesting outside the arena and Cuban getting into a shouting match inside and it's quite a circus in Dallas right now.
Dallas has two more home games before the All-Star break, including Wednesday against the Warriors on ESPN. Good luck with that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mark Cuban Had a NSFW Message For Some Mavericks Fans Who Were Then Ejected.
