Dylan Harper 's father, Ron Harper, used his voice as a five-time NBA champion to call out the ugly fan violence that followed Game 3 between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs .
The Spurs' 115-111 win at Madison Square Garden should have been remembered for Victor Wembanyama dragging San Antonio back into the NBA Finals. Instead, part of the postgame conversation shifted to scenes outside the arena and around watch-party areas.
Videos showed Spurs fans being targeted after the Knicks' loss, turning a heated Finals night into something far more serious than normal trash talk between rival crowds.
Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images
Ron Harper on X , the father of Spurs guard Dylan Harper, reacted after clips of postgame fan violence spread online.
"I've got to get this off my chest FANS, we do not need to fight other fans that wear different jerseys to support their teams," Harper said.
He added, "It's not only in the NBA but all major sports and college, this is sad a mob jumps on kids' families' parents. Let's show some respect and go cheer the teams on."
Harper's message carried extra weight because he has seen basketball from almost every angle. He won five NBA titles as a player, and now he is watching his son compete on the league's biggest stage.
That made his warning feel less like a generic complaint and more like a direct plea to remember that families, kids, and visiting fans are still part of the same game-night environment.
The fault, based on the reported clips and accounts, sits with the specific Knicks fans who crossed the line from anger into mob behavior, not with the entire New York fanbase.
After San Antonio cut the series to 2-1, videos showed Spurs supporters being harassed and attacked, including incidents involving fans in Victor Wembanyama and Tim Duncan jerseys. Reports also described chaos near Bryant Park, arrests, injured officers, and crowds refusing to clear the area.
Players from both sides condemned the violence, with the message being simple: a Finals loss cannot become an excuse to target someone for wearing the wrong jersey.
Harper's post landed because it stripped the issue down to that point. Rivalries are supposed to be loud, emotional, and uncomfortable for visiting teams, but once kids and families become part of a mob scene, the blame belongs to the people throwing punches.
Read more:
