Follow-Up: Ejected Fan's Wife Responds, Saying He Meant No Harm to the Referee and It Was a Chest-Pass Reflex
In Sacramento, in Sacramento County, California, a courtside fan was ejected during the Los Angeles Lakers' 116-103 road win over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on the night of November 4 after throwing an out-of-bounds ball hard back at a referee, and video of the moment has circulated widely on social media for days. On Saturday, November 7, the fan's wife, Kellie DeMarco, responded in an Instagram post, saying her husband meant no harm to the referee, that the throw was a chest-pass reflex left over from years of playing basketball, and apologizing for how it came across.
According to the New York Post and EssentiallySports, DeMarco is a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist who now works as a motivational speaker. She posted a photo of the couple sitting courtside that night, captioned: "When date night goes viral." She wrote: "Yes, this is my sweet husband, and yes, he's the guy who got ejected from an NBA game. I spent nearly 20 years in TV news, and he's getting more airtime than me!" According to EssentiallySports, the fan's first name is Duncan.
DeMarco wrote: "He played basketball for years, and apparently the chest pass muscle memory never left. He meant no harm, he feels terrible that it came across the wrong way, and he has nothing but respect for the officials." She added: "Thank you for all the kind messages. We love the Kings and this community." After commenters said her husband looked like Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, she replied: "And no, he is not Steve Kerr, I've read the comments."
The incident happened with 2:35 left in the third quarter on November 4: after Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt blocked a shot by the Kings' Malik Monk, the ball went out of bounds and landed in the front-row fan's lap. He chest-passed it back toward referee Chelisa Painter, who was standing near the baseline and was not braced for it. Lakers star Luka Doncic saw it happen, confronted the fan on the spot and waved security over, and the fan was escorted from his seat. Doncic said afterward: "He just tossed it really strong, the ball, toward the ref. I just asked him what the hell he's doing." Doncic scored 40 points that night.
GSM previously reported the courtside incident itself; this is the first public response from the fan's family. Neither DeMarco nor her husband has released further details, and neither the Lakers nor the Kings has issued a separate statement identifying the fan.
Source: Kellie DeMarco on Instagram
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 东契奇资料图（Erik Drost摄，CC BY 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons；2026年1月摄，非本次事件图，球迷妻子Instagram照片未搬运）
- 2026-11-05Courtside Fan Ejected for Throwing Ball Hard at Referee: Doncic Confronts Him and Flags Security
- 2026-11-07Follow-Up: Ejected Fan's Wife Responds, Saying He Meant No Harm to the Referee and It Was a Chest-Pass ReflexThis story
