The Golden State Warriors are about to make a potentially controversial reinstatement to their executive board.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic reported Sunday that Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens will return to full active status as a team stakeholder once the current season is over. Stevens, who gained notoriety for pushing Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry during an NBA Finals game last year, will also return to Golden State’s executive board.
The billionaire venture capitalist Stevens was involved in the incident when he was sitting courtside during Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Lowry went crashing into Stevens in an attempt to chase down a loose ball, and Stevens responded by shoving and screaming at the All-Star guard. The embarrassing episode led to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr personally apologizing to the Raptors, who went on to win the series in six games. Stevens was eventually suspended for the entire 2019-20 season, fined $500,000, and not allowed to attend any games or team functions.
Some may say that Stevens, who has yet to see a game at the new Chase Center, has served a fitting punishment for his actions. Others though might see Stevens’ return to full ownership privileges as somewhat problematic.
