Malone: Fan Spit on Him

Karl Malone said Friday that if he made contact with a fan on the floor of the Palace before Thursday night’s NBA Finals game, it was because the man spit on him.

Auburn Hills Police Dept. detectives are investigating an incident that resulted in a fan’s being ejected from the arena and an assault-and-battery complaint filed against Malone.

“He stepped on the floor looking like he had a couple beers and I felt spit hit my face and I didn’t like that too much,” Malone said.

Asked if he’d touched the man, Malone said, “Maybe I did, but he was on the court, he was in my playing field.... I didn’t like the fact that the guy was rude and then I get some spit on my face. That’s not professional on anybody’s court.

“I’m not going to let a guy spit on me. As a player, that’s where I draw the line. Whether he tried to or not, I felt spit on my face.”

Two detectives tried to interview Malone at the arena Friday afternoon and were directed instead to a team security guard who stood between Malone and the fan during the confrontation.

An NBA official said the league would “monitor and review the situation.”

A witness, who was working security, said the fan shouted profanities at Malone using “words likely to provoke a reaction.”

Police spokesman Lt. Jim Manning said they hoped to conclude their investigation by Monday.

According to a source close to the investigation, Malone’s accuser offered to drop the complaint if the Lakers or Malone reimbursed him for his front-row ticket, which he said cost $25,000.

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When Malone grew dissatisfied with the treatment of his knee injury by team doctors in January, he sought a second opinion from Dr. Ralph Venuto, a specialist from Newport Beach.

On Wednesday, Venuto flew from a Hawaiian vacation to join Malone in Detroit, where he aided in Malone’s preparation for Thursday night’s Game 3 and helped convince him to wear a brace.

Malone said there was no change in his knee Friday and he expected to play Sunday.

Laker medical personnel say they do not believe Malone will require surgery this summer. Malone said he would have an MRI exam after the Lakers’ final game and then choose a course of recovery.

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Shaquille O’Neal, who has been a rapper and an actor, wants to be a police chief and has lobbied to become Laker general manager, also wants to be president of the NBA players’ union.

O’Neal told Bloomberg News, “It’s time for somebody professional to get in there to help the league stay strong. We’ve had big-name guys go up there and talk, but millionaires can’t negotiate with billionaires through aggression.”

He later added, “Put me in a room with David Stern, Bill Gates or Bill Clinton. It doesn’t matter.”

Current union president Michael Curry’s term runs another year.