During the third quarter of Thursday night’s game between the Las Vegas Aces and the Indiana Fever, two male spectators were escorted from the venue by security. This occurred after Jackie Young, an Aces player, brought the men’s behavior to the attention of a referee.
The game paused with 4:38 left in the third quarter as Young communicated her concerns to the referee and asked for security intervention. At first, a woman seated in the front row across from the Aces’ bench was escorted through the tunnel by security. She later returned to her seat.
Subsequently, two men who had been near her were removed by security. Young explained that one of these men had been making remarks towards her throughout the game, escalating to an unacceptable level. She described the situation postgame, stating, “He was just chirping all game. I let him have it, and then he just made one that was a little bit too far.” Young preferred not to disclose the specifics of the comments made.
I think we’ll just keep it in here,” Young said when asked about what the fan said to her.
Although the fans were escorted from their positions, a subsequent statement revealed that the Fever found “no code violation” and that the fan left voluntarily. “Following a report of a comment directed toward a player, arena security spoke with the fan involved and witnesses. Security determined there was no violation of the Fan Code of Conduct, the fan was not removed from the arena, but elected to leave. We consider the matter closed,” a statement indicated, as reported by Yahoo Sports.
Despite this incident capturing significant attention, it overshadowed a closely contested basketball game. The match extended into overtime, initiated by Chelsea Gray’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Gray later secured the game winner with another buzzer-beating shot, culminating in the Aces’ 86-84 victory at Indiana.
Young concluded the match with an impressive performance, contributing 22 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and five fouls. Following the game, Young addressed the importance of maintaining proper decorum at sporting events.
“They did the right thing. Obviously, we don’t want to see fans get kicked out, but at the end of the day, we’re human too. So let’s just show up to games, have fun and not take it too far,” Young suggested postgame.