UCLA Player Allegedly Spits in Crowd: A Look at Other Player-Fan Incidents

An incident between a member of the UCLA men's basketball team and fans led to the player's arrest on Thursday—and it's far from the only interaction between a player and fans that turned ugly.

Other leagues, including the NBA, NFL, MLB and UFC, are not without their share of hostile altercations between athletes and fans. Whether it's because the crowd got caught up in the moment or due to the intensity of the competition, there's plenty that the leagues would love to forget. From all-out brawls to some choice insults—and even snowballs—sports can get messy.

UCLA Player Arrested for Allegedly Spitting Into Crowd

UCLA Bruins freshman forward Mac Etienne was arrested following the team's Thursday night loss against the University of Arizona after he appeared to spit at Arizona fans. A video taken as the Bruins walked off the court following their 76-66 loss shows Etienne appearing to spit in the direction of the crowd as they mockingly wave goodbye to the team.

Soon after returning to UCLA's locker room, Etienne was placed under arrest and cited for assault with "the intent to injure, provoke or insult" another individual, police said in a statement posted to social media. At this time, it's unclear what may have been said or done between the fans and Etienne before the alleged spitting incident. He was cited and released and not placed in handcuffs, the public information officer for University of Arizona police told ESPN.

In response to Etienne's arrest, a UCLA athletic department spokesperson released the following statement: "UCLA Athletics is committed to and expects the highest level of sportsmanship. We are aware of the incident involving a student-athlete at tonight's men's basketball game, and the matter is under review."

Conor McGregor Arrested in 2019

Conor McGregor, one of the biggest names associated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was arrested following a March 2019 interaction with a fan in Miami Beach, Florida. McGregor was charged with strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief after allegedly grabbing and then smashing the phone of a fan who was attempting to snap a picture with him. However, the charges against the fighter were later dropped by prosecutors.

Malice at the Palace

Arguably the most memorable and ugliest player-fan interaction happened at an NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons. The "Malice at the Palace" erupted with just seconds remaining in the game between the two Eastern Conference teams in November 2004.

Following a scuffle between the Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest and the Detroit Pistons' Ben Wallace, a beer was thrown from the stands, hitting Artest. Artest then climbed into the stands and mayhem broke out as players and fans hit each other and objects, including chairs, were thrown. In addition to suspensions and fines, several Pacers and some Detroit fans were charged for their roles in the melee.

In 2021, Netflix released a documentary, Untold: Malice at the Palace, which examined the 2004 brawl. The film talked to a number of people involved in the infamous brawl, including Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Artest (now Metta Ford-Artest) and Ben Wallace.

Charles Woodson and Lincoln Kennedy

During a November 1999 NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos, Raiders player Charles Woodson allegedly threw a snowball and hit a female fan in the face. Lincoln Kennedy, a Raiders offensive tackle, also allegedly punched a man who had hit him in the face with a snowball.

The player's actions came after fans were throwing snowballs, some of which had batteries in them, at the Raiders. As a result of the Denver fans targeting the players with snowballs, police arrested eight, and 13 others were cited for their actions. Three people even spent the night in jail, ESPN said.

Denver's head coach at the time, Mike Shannan, expressed his disgust with the fans' actions.

"For someone to throw a snowball at somebody is classless. If you want to throw something at me and hit me with a snowball, I think you deserve to be punched. I think there's a handful of people that do things like that. They have a few too many drinks."

Jon Gruden, who was the head coach of the Raiders, mentioned that he was forced to employ some rather creative moves to avoid being struck. He also went on to say, "I do know a lot of people were concerned for their own safety late in that ball game. It was an ugly scene, dangerous. It was target shooting, that's what it was like."

Albert Belle

In 1991, Cleveland Indians outfielder Albert Belle hit a fan with a baseball. The man allegedly invited Belle, who was being treated for alcohol abuse, to a keg party. "I am sorry I did it and it will not happen again," Belle said in a statement released through Indians' spokesperson Bob DiBiasio.