Julius Randle has had a rough month of January in terms of both stats and public relations. Now one New York Knicks fan is adding another claim about Randle to the mix.
Knicks fan Dylan Rainey spoke with Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News on Friday and claimed that Randle had him ejected from a recent game for some mild trash talk. The alleged incident took place in Miami during the Knicks’ blowout loss to the Heat on Wednesday.
Rainey claims that he yelled at Randle from his seat in the second quarter, saying, “You get a $118 million contract and the fans get a thumbs down? Are you kidding me?” Rainey alleges that Randle then summoned a Knicks security guard and that arena personnel issued a written warning.
Though he claims he was quiet for a couple of quarters after that, Rainey says that he then began talking to Randle again in the fourth quarter.
“He’s sitting right in front of me, I said, ‘Hey, you know you’re -34 right now, right?’” said Rainey. “Then he looked at me, was clearly trying to intimidate me, then he got security, and that was a wrap.”
Rainey shared video from the game of security telling him that he had to leave. You can see the video and read Rainey’s other comments about the alleged incident in Bondy’s full article here.
The “thumbs-down” comment was a reference to Randle’s notable incident with Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden earlier this month. It was an episode that the star big man drew a lot of criticism for.
Randle has struggled in January, putting up multiple duds and scoring 17.0 points per game on the month overall. The Knicks are 6-6 over that span and were also recently fined because Randle was blowing off the media.
Granted, there is no video of the actual Randle heckling incident in Miami, only the aftermath. That means that it is just Rainey’s word here. But if he is being truthful, a big “if” without video evidence, that sounds like a pretty light reason to get someone ejected, especially one of your own team’s fans.
Photo: Nov 8, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first half at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports
