With the help of a videotape from a freelance television cameraman, the NBA was determining today what action to take against Houston guard Vernon Maxwell for allegedly assaulting a heckling fan.
People who have seen the video, which was shipped to NBA headquarters in New York on Tuesday and has not yet been broadcast, say it clearly shows Maxwell connecting a right-handed punch to the jaw of 35-year-old Steve George.Maxwell ran a dozen rows into the stands to get at George during the third quarter of Houston's 120-82 loss to Portland.
Rod Thorn, the NBA's vice president of operations and the man who decides on penalties for rule infractions, said the case is unprecedented in his 10 years in the league.
"We've never had anybody go into the stands, unless it was a fight among players that spilled over into the seats," he said.
Charles Barkley was fined $10,000 and suspended for a game in 1991 for spitting at fans. The target was a heckler, but he hit an 8-year-old girl instead.
But that's considerably different than a player punching a fan.
Maxwell, who has earned the nickname "Mad Max" for his unpredictable, outlandish behavior in seven years in the NBA, quietly slipped out of Portland with his teammates Tuesday.
"You know I'm not going to talk about it," Maxwell said as he left a downtown hotel.
The Rockets were in Sacramento to play the Kings tonight.
George, a home products salesman from Atlanta who was in town visiting family, left Portland on Tuesday for a home show in Las Vegas. Before he left, he repeated the description of the incident he gave to reporters Monday night, saying Maxwell punched him on the left side of his jaw.
A police report filed by George has been forwarded to the Multnomah County district attorney's office. George's attorney, Richard Maizels, said his client would sign a complaint with the district attorney.
Maizels said a civil lawsuit also is possible but believes there is a good chance of an out-of-court settlement. Although George had wondered why security guards didn't step in quickly to stop Maxwell, Maizels downplayed the likelihood that Memorial Coliseum, which is managed by the Portland Trail Blazers, would be named in any lawsuit.