Mark Cuban and Mavericks fan respond after heated "fire Nico" exchange that ended in ejection
NORTH TEXAS – Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban clashed Monday night with a season ticket holder who started chanting "fire Nico," a call directed at embattled General Manager Nico Harrison, whose leadership is under scrutiny by Mavs fans following Luka Doncic's trade to Los Angeles.
It happened during the 4th quarter of Monday's closely contested game against the Sacramento Kings, and the fan was escorted out of the arena after the heated exchange with the billionaire.
The fan, Chris Taylor, told CBS News Texas that he didn't believe he broke any rules and was voicing his opinion. Cuban stood up and yelled at Taylor to sit down before Taylor was escorted out by security.
In an email to CBS News Texas, Cuban said he didn't care about what Taylor was saying but was concerned about fans booing during crucial moments.
The Mavs ended up losing 129-128 to the Kings in overtime.
"I didn't care what he was saying," Cuban said in the email. "He was saying it the whole game. I cared that fans were booing him while we had the ball in crunch time or were shooting FTs (free throws). The time when they should be silent, or cheering for the Mavs… I had no say about who got kicked out. I turned back to watch the game. I spent about 20 [seconds] interacting with him."
Taylor was one of the fans escorted out of the arena on Monday.
"I turned around at one point to our section and started doing this, 'fire Nico,' and then when I turned around, Mark Cuban had stood up out of his chair and started yelling at me," Taylor said. "He pointed at me and looked right at me and said 'Sit down, sit down.'"
Taylor said he had planned to go to Monday night's game and make his voice heard, attempting to be strategic and not violate the league's Code of Conduct, but didn't want to be thrown out. He said he was loud but "90% of the time" was cheering for the Mavs.
However, Taylor said he thought it was the right time to let his voice be heard towards the end of the fourth quarter while the Mavs were shooting free throws.
Taylor said he hasn't heard from the Mavs and doesn't know if he'll face additional punishments.
