Fans escorted out of Indiana Fever vs Las Vegas Aces game | video
Raw video: A fan sitting courtside during Thursday’s Indiana Fever game vs the Las Vegas Aces was brought back and two others were escorted out.
A fan was escorted from their seat but not ejected from the Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Thursday night, the Fever said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.
As Aces guard Jewell Loyd lined up for a free throw after drawing a foul on a basket with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter, she and teammate Jackie Young began gesturing toward the sideline.
Young spoke with officials, who appeared to make multiple checks with security before the fan and another person appeared to be escorted out of the building.
USA TODAY reached out to Aces, Fever and WNBA representatives asking for clarity on what happened.
“Following a report of a comment directed toward a player, arena security spoke with the fan involved and witnesses. Security determined there was no violation of the Fan Code of Conduct, the fan was not removed from the arena, but elected to leave. We consider the matter closed,” the Fever said in the statement issued to USA TODAY.
Young opted not to provide details to reporters in Indiana when asked about the situation.
“He was just chirping all game and I let him have it,” Young said. “Then he just made one that was a little bit too far.”
Chelsea Gray, who made back-to-back buzzer-beating 3-pointers in the Aces’ 86-84 win, responded to the Fever’s statement in her postgame press conference.
“I don’t know the specifics, but stuff gets said on the sideline quite often. It wasn’t directed at me. It was directed at Jackie and she told somebody, and clearly they found reason to kick him out. I’ll just leave it there. I mean, if they didn’t find any — they had a reason to take them out. So they’re not gonna just do that for nothing.”
When an Aces’ PR representative noted that the fan opted to remain out, Gray repeated that phrase with a deadpan tone.
“Remained out…,” she said as she stared at reporters.
This story has been updated with new information.