Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges Fined $50,000 for Throwing a Mouthpiece in the Stand

NBA fined striker Charlotte Hornets Miles Bridges $50,000 Thursday for throwing his mouth at the crowd after he was fired from Wednesday night’s loss of play against the Hawks in Atlanta.

The incident occurred after Bridges whistled for a goal in the middle of the fourth quarter and was immediately followed by match official James Williams, who called him for two quick technical steps.

As Bridges left court and headed to Charlotte’s locker room, a Hawks fan yelled at him, causing Bridges to turn around and throw his tongue out, injuring a fan standing nearby. The Charlotte Observer reported that the 16-year-old girl he punched in the mouth was 16 years old.

Bridges apologized after the game for the incident and again on Thursday after his exit interview in Charlotte.

“I lost my cool last night with a lot of things that happened,” Bridges said. “I don’t usually act like that and it was an embarrassment to me and the organization.”

Bridges said he was prepared to take “full responsibility” for any penalty the league expected.

“I deserve it,” Bridges said. “You’re never supposed to go out that way, especially since fans come to a match to watch you play. For their safety to be in danger at the time, that’s a mistake on my part. I take full responsibility.”

Bridges said he reached out to the young fan on Instagram to apologize but received no response. Hornets’ public relations department said it was trying to connect Bridges to the fan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.