Dallas Mavericks “Super Fan” Don Knobler has allegedly been banned from the team’s arena after his confrontation with the LA Clippers Patrick Beverley.
Take this with a whopping grain of salt. According to Reddit user u/Kleberfever, the Dallas Mavericks have banned “Super Fan” Don Knobler from the arena after an investigation into his confrontation with the LA Clippers Patrick Beverley.
At this time, I have been unable to find any second sources confirming this report, but the original post can be found here.
"I wanted to share some information I have heard through the grapevine about when the clippers came to Dallas, and Pat Beverly was ejected for throwing a ball at Dallas “Super fan” Don Knobler. He has been banned from the arena. He’s actually not even a season ticket holder, he just knows the courtside seat season ticket holders and for every game, SOMEONE would give him tickets because they know him. They have been instructed to not offer him tickets anymore, and he is not allowed in the arena. The ownership group had a meeting, and they talked to everyone in the area of the fan and confirmed Beverly’s story, he really did say “f*** your mother” to Beverly, multiple times. That’s a terrible thing to say to anyone and is unacceptable for fans to treat players that way. So from all of us, I apologize."
During the December 2 game in Dallas, Patrick Beverley was ejected after bouncing a ball at Knobler. Beverley immediately told reporters after the game that Kobler said “F*** your mother” repeatedly and that Bev had let both the referees and security know.
After nothing was done, the Clippers point guards took matters into his own hands, bouncing the ball at Knobler. While provoked, Beverley ultimately earned the ejection.
The user states that after the incident, the team performed and investigation which included interviewing several fans who were seated in the nearby area.
It seems like the Mavericks confirmed what Beverley said was true and issued a ban to Knobler. This some small vindication for Bev and Clippers fans, but still looks bad as a whole. I assume Bev did notify both the refs and security, so why was something not done in the moment?
The NBA obviously respects their fans and want them to feel involved in the game, but when things go too far, players need to be protected. After all, these are people just like us trying to earn a living while entertaining millions of people.
It’s better late than never that Knobler was (allegedly) dealt with and hopefully this will dissuade other fans from acting in a similar manner.