Spurs Mascot Gets Ejected
In a sign of how touchy the NBA is becoming about violence since the Nov. 19 melee in Auburn Hills, Mich., a referee Wednesday night ejected the San Antonio Spurs' mascot, the Coyote, for playfully challenging the Minnesota Timberwolves to a fight.
With less than a minute remaining in the third quarter, Wally Szczerbiak collided with Spurs rookie Beno Udrih, and Udrih went down, according to WOAI.com, a radio station based in San Antonio.
When Szczerbiak went to help Udrih up, he was bumped out of the way by Spurs guard Bruce Bowen, who helped Udrih instead. Bowen and Szczerbiak exchanged heated words and were assessed technical fouls. But they stayed in the game. The Coyote, however, did not.
During the altercation, the Coyote had pretended to become enraged and acted as if he was preparing to go onto the court and fight. This is routinely done by mascots in such situations across the league. According to WOAI, referee Jess Kersey apparently thought the mascot was too close to the action.
"I want the wolf out of here," Kersey yelled. "He's gone. Now."
Fans, coaches and most of the players were stunned. Spurs all star center Tim Duncan was amused.
"That's the greatest thing I've ever heard," Duncan said after the game. "That's the kind of toughness that we have on this team. They were afraid of the Coyote, so they had to toss him. That was incredible."
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