Several San Antonio Spurs fans were attacked Monday evening on the sidelines of Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, an incident that French star Victor Wembanyama described as 'unacceptable'.
Multiple videos posted on social media and circulated by local news outlets show fans wearing San Antonio jerseys being insulted, pushed, and even punched by several individuals at once.
Some of them ended up with torn shirts, while one was thrown to the ground and kicked.
All these incidents occurred in midtown Manhattan, near Madison Square Garden or close to it, where the Spurs defeated the Knicks 115-111 to narrow the series gap to two wins to one out of a possible seven games.
Street riots during sporting events are extremely rare in a city not known for hostility towards rival team fans.
Wembanyama was shocked on Tuesday by what happened, saying: 'I am all for passion, but with respect for others. This is unacceptable.'
In general, such confrontations are very uncommon in the United States.
In response to a question from the French press agency, the New York police clarified that these events occurred in the context of wider violence, particularly in Bryant Park, the public park adjacent to 42nd Street where a 'fan zone' was set up.
A police spokesperson said: 'The crowd has become increasingly aggressive and violent, willing to vandalize, especially public facilities.'
He added: 'Several fights broke out, resulting in multiple injuries.'
The police, which reported the injury of five of its officers, indicated that 21 people were arrested and charges were brought against eight of them, while fines were issued to others.