Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Blake was fined $25,000 on Tuesday for berating a fan during Friday’s game against the Clippers. Both parties met on Tuesday to patch things up, and we also learned that the fan whom Blake cussed out is Lance Jackson, the son of L.A. Gear chairman Steve Jackson.
Blake was starting for the injured Steve Nash and had just 8 points on 2-for-6 shooting on Friday. According to ESPN LA, Jackson got on Blake for missing shots.
“You need to knock down those open shots,” the fan reportedly said.
Blake reportedly snapped back, and as we can tell in the video, he yelled at Jackson after fouling out.
“It’s an unfortunate misunderstanding and a heat-of-the-moment type of thing,” Blake said after practice Tuesday. “It’s one of those things I’m not proud of, the way I handled it, and I look forward to growing as a person and moving forward from it.”
Blake met with the Jacksons at the practice facility on Tuesday. Steve Jackson has a strong relationship with the team and has had courtside seats for many years. Many Lakers players have worked out at the gym in Jackson’s home (he has a replica Staples Center court), and visiting teams have even practiced there.
Blake says he apologized to the Jacksons and said he never had an outburst on a fan like that before.
Though he says the fan incident was a first, Blake has gotten into it on the court in the past. He fought with the Mavericks last year and, when he was in college, he once fought with a teammate. It seems like he’s just a hot head.
