‘Get Ready for the Race Card’: Ex-NBA Player Predicts Backlash if Jokic Isn’t Suspended for Shoving Suns Owner

Former NBA player Chandler Parsons believes he already knows where the conversation will go if Nikola Jokic isn’t suspended for shoving Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia.

The Denver Nuggets center found himself at the center of another controversy after a brief altercation with Ishbia in Game 4 of the playoff series between the two teams. Suns guard Josh Okogie fell in the stands after trying to save the ball. The ball ended up in Ishbia’s hands, and Jokic tried to take it from him so he could inbound it while Okogie was out of play. In the process, Jokic shoved him and he fell to the ground.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Jokic’s future in the series has been the subject of debate. Some believe Jokic should be suspended for Game 5, while others believe Ishbia should have been ejected for involving himself the way he did.

If there is no suspension, Parsons thinks race will inevitably come up.

“Get ready for the race card if he does not get suspended,” Parsons said on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back, “because I don’t think he’s gonna get suspended and there’s gonna be a lot of things (like), ‘If this were Draymond (Green), he would be suspended. If this were Dillon Brooks… Anybody with a worse reputation or past is gonna get suspended.'”

“You hate to see it,” he added.

The league is expected to make a statement on the incident Monday. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, it’s unlikely Jokic will be suspended.

.@WindhorstESPN thinks it’s “unlikely” Nikola Jokić will be suspended after the altercation in Game 4: pic.twitter.com/YvaugKbRli

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 8, 2023

Ishbia also came to Jokic’s defense, calling for no punishment for the star player on Twitter on Monday.

“Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far!” he said. “That should be and is the only story. Suspending or fining anyone over last night’s incident would not be right. I have a lot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!”

Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far!
That should be and is the only story. Suspending or fining anyone over last nights incident would not be right. I have alot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!

— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) May 8, 2023

Watch above via FanDuel TV

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