The New York Knicks fan who decided it was a classy gesture and bright idea to spit on Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series is suffering the consequences of his actions. He's been pretty much universally ripped around the NBA community at this point. He's been talked about over and over and over again by players, fans, analysts, media outlets and others, all in a negative light. And he's now indefinitely banned from Madison Square Garden, which, if I had to guess, probably isn't the best feeling for a Knicks fan.
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In a way, though, this fan is lucky. Because had he decided to hock a loogie on Boston Celtics big man Tristan Thompson, he'd be suffering from a few more consequences.
"I dare a motherf----- to spit on me," Thompson said when asked about the incident in a presser on Friday. "I'll follow you right to your house."
"There should probably also be like a fine, like a criminal fine," Thompson continued. "Because if you spit on someone down the street, don't you get like fined or arrested or some sh-- like that? So, if you spit on people in the arena and you can't spit on someone in the street, it should be the same protocol, I think."
I can't say I'm too well-versed in the laws regarding spitting, but his point came across quite clearly. And it's a thought that several around the league have also expressed, along with the sentiment that the league should be able to do more to protect the players from the behavior of fans. Players in that school of thought include Knicks forward Julius Randle, 76ers forward Tobias Harris and Wizards guard Russell Westbrook, who had his own run-in with a fan on the same night as Young.
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