Former NBA and EuroLeague player Paul Davis was ejected from the stands while watching an NCAA game featuring his former team, Michigan State, as a fan in front of his former coach, Tom Izzo.
An awkward moment occurred during the NCAA game between Michigan State and USC.
With six minutes remaining in the second half, play was stopped by the referee due to inappropriate comments directed at an official by a fan in the stands.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo then motioned for the fan to be removed, only for it to become clear that the individual was one of his former players from his college coaching days—former Spartan and NBA big man Paul Davis.
Upon realizing who it was, Izzo yelled at Davis, asking, “What the f*ck are you doing?” Davis then left the arena as the game resumed.
Addressing the situation after the game, Izzo said that whatever Davis said to the referee should never be said to anyone and that it genuinely upset him.
"I love Paul Davis, I really do, he's one of my favorite guys... What he said, you should never say anywhere in the world, and that ticked me off," Izzo said postgame.
"And so, just because it's 20 years later I'm going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he'll say? 'I screwed up coach. Sorry.' He kind of got after the official and he was 150 percent wrong. And for a guy like me to 150 percent agree with the official, it's almost illegal."
"So I feel bad that Paul did that because he's been a guy that comes back a lot... But he's been really good with our players... Let's not get carried away, it wasn't something racial, it wasn't something sexual. It was just the wrong thing to say and I'll leave it at that," he added.
Paul Davis played four seasons under Tom Izzo at Michigan State before being selected in the 2006 NBA Draft.
He spent three seasons in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards before continuing his career overseas, playing multiple seasons in both the EuroCup and EuroLeague, most notably with Khimki.
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