Washington Wizards assistant coach Mike Batiste has been suspended two games without pay for entering the stands in an attempt to confront a fan, the NBA announced Thursday.
With 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 121-100 loss to the Miami Heat, Batiste, the Wizards’ player development coach, got into an argument with at least one fan before he was led away toward the locker room by center Montrezl Harrell.
“To my understanding, a fan, or several fans, said something that was out of line,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after the game. “Obviously, we have to take the high road. You 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.”
Batiste will begin serving his suspension on Thursday night, when the Wizards host the Brooklyn Nets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.