NBA suspends Patrick Beverley four games after throwing a ball at a fan

Cameras showed the ball hitting a fan in the head. After Beverly asked for the ball back and had it thrown back to him, he then shot it back at the fan.

Beverly in a Wednesday episode of his Pat Bev Podcast said he had been called a word he had never been called before, but his own actions were “still inexcusable.”

“An unfortunate situation that should never have happened,” he said. “What I did was bad and it should never have happened. I have to get better and I will. This should never have happened, no matter what was said, it’s as simple as that.”

Indianapolis police said Wednesday that they were opening an investigation into the incident. The case was then forwarded to detectives, “who are currently investigating this situation and are taking all allegations seriously.”

The case will be presented to the Marion County District Attorney’s Office once the investigation is complete.

Beverly was also suspended for refusing to answer questions from ESPN producer Malinda Adams during a group locker room interview after the Bucks’ loss. He told her to move her microphone away from his face and eventually asked her to leave the interview circle.

“Patrick Beverley’s behavior toward ESPN producer Malinda Adams was unacceptable, unprofessional and did not meet the standard that NBA players always meet when dealing with the media,” Tim Frank, the NBA’s senior vice president of league operations communications, said in a statement Explanation.

Beverley will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a minimum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and then the Bucks. His next team would have to keep him out due to the suspension for four regular season games.

His suspension could cost him around $90,000 if he signs another minimum contract next season, expected to be $3.3 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The temperamental player was suspended for one game in 2021 while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers after shoving Chris Paul in a Game 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Beverly, who just completed his 12th season in the NBA, averaged 8.2 points and 5.5 assists in six games against the Pacers in the playoffs.

The Utah Jazz traded Beverly to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022 for forward Stanley Johnson and guard Talen Horton-Tucker.

The NBA’s latest crackdown on Beverly is harsher than its treatment of Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, who threw a heat pack onto the court during the team’s playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Murray was fined $100,000 over the incident but was not suspended.