Washington Wizards Assistant Coach Mike Batiste Jumps Fan During Loss To Miami Heat

There was a very scary moment during Monday night’s NBA tilt between the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat. With the homestanding Wizards trailing by a significant margin late in the 4th quarter, one of Washington’s assistant coaches somehow got involved in a scuffle with a fan. The result was nearly chaos.

Mike Batiste is the Wizards’ manager of player development. The former NBA star got upset with something the fan said. Mike then jumped over the bench and a row of seats in an effort to apparently attack the person.

Wizards players on the bench were able to restrain Batiste before anyone was injured. The coach was escorted to the locker room for the final few seconds of the game. Afterwards, Washington head coach Wes Unseld explained what happened.

“Obviously, we have to take the high road and just can’t indulge in that. But, I think it was a situation where something was said that was a bit over the line and I think it got the best of one of our coaches. But, either way, you have to take the high road.”

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Unseld did not address whether Mike Batiste would be punished for the incident. The head coach did note that the fan said something out of line. That’s still no excuse for getting physical in the middle of a game. Fan heckling incidents have become much more common in the NBA this season.

We’ll see if Mike Batiste is fined, suspended, or worse. The incident brought to mind several others. A recent incident saw a Philadelphia 76ers fan receive a lifetime ban for taunting Carmelo Anthony. This time a coach got physically involved. There should be zero tolerance, but time will tell how the Wizards react.

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