Front Office Sports reports that the network has prohibited Milwaukee Bucks point guard Patrick Beverley from making guest appearances on its programs, including Get Up and First Take, following an altercation with an ESPN producer on Thursday night. After the team’s loss to the Pacers, Beverley threw Malinda Adams out of his locker room media scrum. He later apologized in private to Adams, but it doesn’t appear that this satisfied anyone at the network. On Friday, Adams revealed that Beverley had apologized over the phone, and she had accepted.
The point guard for the Bucks started fielding questions, then stopped short to inquire if Adams was a subscriber to his podcast. She acknowledged that her colleague does subscribe, but she gave a negative response. Beverley continued asking Adams if she would leave the circle after receiving that response. After departing the scrum, the ESPN producer left the other reporters to get quotes on their own.
An ESPN representative declined to confirm the Bucks player’s exclusion from the networks’ programming, according to FOS. Rather, they declared, “Malinda is a well-respected colleague and a true professional. She has our full support.”
Beverley acted inappropriately on Thursday night in a number of ways. On Friday’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith joined the chorus of critics, focusing on Beverley’s confrontation with Pacers supporters that resulted in him tossing a ball that struck a woman.
“I just can’t believe he did that,” Smith said. “I’ve known Patrick Beverley for years. I love the brother. It’s inexcusable. It’s indefensible… the punishment is forthcoming and I suspect a severe one.
“When he threw the ball in the stands, he didn’t mean to hit the woman, he meant to throw it at the guy that was in front of her… but you should’ve never thrown it in the first place. It’s not something that you do. You don’t do that.”
Smith went on to say that Beverley had to act with “decorum” and fulfill his professional responsibilities, no matter what happens with the enemy fans.