The blond gentleman in the No. 41 Dallas jersey found things to be a tad unpleasant inside the Pepsi Center Wednesday night.
No, not Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki, though he was booed by Nuggets fans nearly every chance he touched the ball, but Josh Ratner — a 26-year-old Dallas fan sitting in section 132.
Ratner, a Dallas native who is attending law school at the University of Denver, got into several shouting matches with the Denver fans seated around him, and seconds before halftime, had his jersey doused with beer. Security officers moved Ratner and his two friends, also drenched, to new seats for the second half.
After a nasty display by fans in Dallas during Game 4 on Monday — in which Nuggets family members claimed to be verbally assaulted — and fans threw items onto the court, officials from Kroenke Sports Enterprises took extra measures to try to ensure comparative peace here Wednesday night.
The stadium hired four additional uniformed Denver police officers and 20 more security personnel to make sure that disturbances between Denver and Dallas fans remained fairly civil.
“We take it very seriously,” said Paul Andrews, Kroenke’s executive vice president. “We believe that the fans of Denver will show the class that we know they have.”
The blue-shirted security guards were instructed to be extra diligent in curbing potential problems. All hand-made signs were inspected for vulgar words, and security guards kept an eye out for fans that were cursing excessively or were highly intoxicated.
Andrews reported no major issues at halftime.
“So far so good,” he said.
The Mavericks traveled with their own security representative, as per normal procedure, but team officials declined to comment on any additional measures taken to protect players and fans here in Denver.
Andrews said the well being of the friends and family members of Maverick players were the responsibility of the Pepsi Center staff.
“We know where the families are at,” Andrews said.
The series grew increasingly hostile through two tight, controversial games in Dallas. Dallas owner Mark Cuban insulted the mother of Denver forward Kenyon Martin after Game 3 after Carmelo Anthony hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds. Anthony’s fiancee, La La Vazquez, said she was berated by fans in the stands during Game 4.
Cuban on Tuesday apologized to Martin?s mother, Lydia Moore, via his blog, though Martin Wednesday morning said he didn’t believe the apology to be sincere.
“He let all the stuff stay up out there – he should have (apologized) before,” Martin said. “It’s a calculated decision on his part.”
Cuban, who attended the first two games in Denver, was not at the Pepsi Center for Game 5 because of a prior commitment to attend an engagement in Las Vegas.
