Bumuhos ang suporta ng kanyang mga kapwa NBA players para kay Toronto guard Kyle Lowry kasunod ng nangyaring panunulak sa kanya ng isang fan noong Game 3 ng best-of-seven championship series.
Una nang kinilala ang naturang tagahanga na investor at miyembro ng executive board ng Warriors na si Mark Stevens, na pinatawan na ng 1-year ban ng NBA at pinagmumulta pa ng $500,000 o katumbas ng halos P26-milyon.
Ilan sa mga nagpaabot ng kanilang mga suporta kay Lowry sina Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James, at si maging si Draymond Green.
Sa kanyang Instagram post, sinabi ni James na kailanman ay wala umanong puwang sa liga ang kahalintulad na mga aksyon.
“Just think to yourself, what if [Lowry] would have reacted and put his hands back on him,” dagdag ni James. “You guys would be going CRAZY!! Calling for him to damn near be put in jail let alone being [sic] suspended for the rest of the Finals all because he was protected [sic] himself.”
Pinuri naman ni Green ang kalmadong tugon ni Lowry sa nangyari.
“You have to give Kyle a lot of credit in the way he handled it,” wika ni Green. “You’re playing in the NBA Finals, so your emotions are running high. For him to handle it the way he did says a lot about his character, a lot about him as a man and the way he handles himself. That was great to see.”
Personal ding humingi ng paumanhin kay Lowry si Warriors coach Steve Kerr, na tinawag pang hindi katanggap-tanggap ang ipinakitang ugali ni Stevens.
Sa pahayag ng team, sinabi nito na hindi umano repleksyon ng ginawa ni Stevens ang mataas na pamantayan na nais nilang ipakita bilang isang organisasyon.
“We’re extremely disappointed in his actions and, along with Mr. Stevens, offer our sincere apology to Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors organization for this unfortunate misconduct.”
