Bucks guard Patrick Beverley apologized for throwing a basketball twice at fans in Indianapolis, but alleged some Pacers fans grossly crossed the line while taunting him.
He also disputed a report that a “Cancun on three” chant enraged him.
“Unfortunate situation that should have never happened. What I did was bad and that should have never happened. I have to be better and I will be better and that should have never happened,” Beverley said on “The Pat Bev Podcast” following Milwaukee’s season ending. “Regardless of what was said, that should have never happened. Simple as that. Let’s just say it was more than, ‘Cancun on three.’
“Let’s just say it was more than that. I’ve been called a lot of stuff in this league, I haven’t been called that one. Still inexcusable, it doesn’t matter what was said. I have to be better and I will be better.”
Beverley’s season ended in dubious fashion when the loquacious guard threw basketballs into the crowd twice during the Pacers’ series-clinching in Game 6 last week.
The veteran hit one fan in the head with one of the hurls.
One report stated a “Cancun on three” chant — referring to the famous NBA expression for a team’s season ending with a trip to Cancun — plus some expletives were behind Beverley’s actions.
Beverley, 35, tweeted on May 3 his take side on the alteraction.
“Not Fair at all. Exchanged between a fan and our ball club all night. We warned and asked for help all night. Not fair. 🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️,” Beverley posted on X.
He did not provide specifics in this clip, but said some fans “crossed the line.”
“I’m not going to take away from the fans that were great, there were some fans that took it a little bit too far. I’m here to set the record straight. I was absolutely wrong, and I need to be better and I will. I’m not the guy to get fans kicked out neither, the things that were said to me, I could have got four, five fans kicked out,” said Beverley, who scored six points on 3 of 11 shooting in the loss. “Literally, security walked up to me. ‘You wanna get that fan thrown out?’ ‘Nah, man.’ You can say anything when you winning, that’s what happens when you win, you can literally say anything. And some people would say, ‘Pat, man, you should have got him kicked out, that would have never happened.’ I’m not getting no fans kicked out. People who spend money to watch us play. I’m not getting them kicked out.
“We in layup line, I’m on the bench with the ball, fan to the right of me say something crazy. I get up to him, ‘Hey, man, you can boo me but don’t call me that.’ I go shake (Pacers coach) Rick Carlisle hand, fan say something crazy to me. I’m looking like, man, you can say anything, just don’t be disrespectful. He apologized too. Everyone who stepped out of line and said something like too crazy, all of them apologized. It was just some people crossed the line a little bit.”
Beverley maintained that he will never act in such a way again, even if fans are being disrespectful.
“Never,” he said. “I ain’t bringing a basketball on the bench no more, man.”
The tweeted clip did not include Beverley commenting on him rudely dismissing a female ESPN reporter because she did not subscribe his podcast.
The episode seemingly will be released soon.
