By 
It’s not everyday that an NBA fan that sits courtside has the opportunity to have a heated discussion with a player on the court. That happened for Los Angeles Lakers fan Lance Jackson last Friday night. Jackson wasn’t too pleased with Steve Blake’s performance against the Los Angeles Clippers and felt he needed to let Blake know about it.The Lakers point guard wasn’t too pleased with Jackson’s comments. In the following video it appears that Blake was shouting quite a few obscenities toward the fan. Jackson explains his side of the story in the following interview.Lance Jackson joined ESPN Los Angeles with Mason and Ireland to discuss his version of the verbal altercation with Steve Blake on Friday, never before exchanging words with other Lakers players from his courtside seats, his one-on-one meeting with Blake and moving on from the incident after Blake’s apology.
What’s your version of what happened Friday night at the game?:
“Well, first of all, I want to say I have the utmost respect for the game, the Lakers organization and most importantly the players. I have been going to games my entire life and we’re passionate fans, but I have never and would never ever use profanity towards any player, or anyone for that matter. With that being said, we’re really just trying to encourage Steve Blake and get him going. I told him to knock down a shot and it was just the heat of the moment type of thing. He’s a great guy and, like I said, just heat of the moment and he just got upset.”
Have you ever had words with any other players from your seats?:
“No. I mean we always try to encourage other players to hit that shot or say let’s go or get back on defense, but like I said, I think Steve Blake was caught in the moment and we just hit 0-3. It was a tough stretch and … I think emotions got to him, but he’s a great guy and nothing personal. It’s just over and done with.”
Take us behind the scenes with the Steve Blake meeting you had. What did he say?:
“We really talked about what happened and Steve Blake was really apologetic. That was really the gist of it. It was just a misunderstanding and he was frustrated and fans were frustrated. That was it. That’s all it really came down to. We’ve been fans forever and never had any issues, and Steve Blake knows we’ve been fans for a long time. We know Steve Blake is a great person and it was really just, like I said, heat of the moment and there’s nothing much else to it. It spiraled out of control from there.”
So as far as you’re concerned, it’s apology accepted and you’re a fan of Steve Blake’s and the Lakers?:
“Absolutely. I bleed purple and gold and so does my family. We’re passionate fans and it was just an unfortunate situation. Water under the bridge. We know Steve Blake. He’s a good player and a great person.”
Comments