Austin Rivers threw a bit of a tantrum last night against the Sacramento Kings, and it cost him a good chunk of his next paycheck. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, a frustrated Rivers threw a seat cushion into the stands, inadvertently hitting a female fan.
The NBA is investigating an incident on Wednesday night in which Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers threw a seat cushion that flew into the stands and hit a fan at Sleep Train Arena in the fourth quarter of a game against the Sacramento Kings, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
[…]
The situation caused a stir among Kings fans on hand, as the woman who was hit by the cushion in the second row was clearly experiencing discomfort in her eyes for quite some time after the incident.
The NBA fined Rivers $25,000 for his actions.
Rivers didn’t have a great game, scoring just three points to go along with two rebounds and two steals. That’s going to be frustrating for any player (even if it is a pretty normal line for Rivers). Still, no matter how upset a player gets, they simply can’t resort to throwing stuff into the stands. Rivers and the fan were both lucky it was only a seat cushion.