Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges was fined $50,000 by the NBA on Thursday, one day after he struck a young fan with his mouthpiece after he was ejected from the team’s play-in loss to the host Atlanta Hawks.
The incident occurred after Bridges was whistled for a goaltending call midway through the fourth quarter and immediately went after game official James Williams, who called two quick technicals on him.
As Bridges left the court and headed to the Charlotte locker room, a Hawks fan yelled in his direction, leading him to turn around and throw his mouthpiece, which hit another fan who was standing nearby around her shoulder. The girl he hit is 16, she told the Charlotte Observer.
“I was aiming for the guy that was screaming at me and it hit a little girl,” Bridges said after the Hornets’ 132-103 loss. “So that’s definitely unacceptable on my part and I take full responsibility. … That’s out of character for me. You’ve been around me; I don’t act like that or ever flash out like that.
“So that was definitely wrong, a lot of emotions and hopefully I can get in contact with the young girl and sincerely apologize to her and do something nice for her, but that’s definitely on me.”