A Knicks fan claimed that Julius Randle had him kicked out of FTX Arena in Miami earlier this week for heckling the slumping forward.
Earlier this month, Randle was fined $25,000 by the NBA for saying a thumbs-down gesture was intended to tell booing fans to “shut the f- -k up” at Madison Square Garden.
A caller to WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” show who identified himself as Dylan from Miami said he had “a horrible experience” during the Knicks’ loss to the Heat on Wednesday night.
The fan said he was seated behind the visiting bench with his girlfriend when he stood up in the second quarter and yelled, “Hey Randle, you get a $118 million contract and this is what I get? The fans get a thumbs-down, this is what we get?” The fan insisted during the call that he said “nothing personal” or profane, but he was issued a warning after Randle pointed him out to arena security.
Later in the game, the fan said he also yelled at the Knicks forward that he was “minus-34” in the blowout loss, and Randle alerted security again. The spectator then was thrown out of the game by two uniformed police officers, according to a video posted on WFAN’s Twitter account.
One fan says he was kicked out of Miami’s FTX Arena for heckling Julius Randle. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“His head wasn’t even in the game. He was just waiting for me to say the next thing,” the caller added about Randle.
Ahead of the Knicks’ 123-108 loss to the Bucks, Randle told reporters that he still wants to “be a part of” a potential turnaround with the team and “see this thing through.” Randle’s scoring and shooting numbers are down considerably from last season, when he was named to All-NBA second team after helping lead the Knicks to their first playoff berth since 2013.
Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne’s name has emerged as a potential successor to fired coach Chris Mack at Louisville, his alma mater. Mike Woodson left the Knicks late last season for the head coaching job at his alma mater, Indiana.
“If there’s interest there, I think he’d be a great fit. He’d be ideal for them. He brings a lot of experience to any situation,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Payne, who served as an assistant under John Calipari at Kentucky for 10 years before joining the Knicks last season.
Nerlens Noel returned Friday against the Bucks after missing the previous game in Miami with a sore knee, but Mitchell Robinson remained in the starting lineup at center.
