Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges expressed remorse after he struck a girl in the crowd with his mouthpiece while leaving the court following an ejection in the latter stages of his team's play-in loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
"I was upset about a call - a couple calls, really - and I let my temper get the best of me," Bridges told Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. "That was definitely the wrong thing to do, throwing my mouthpiece. I was aiming for the guy that was screaming at me and it hit the little girl. That was definitely unacceptable on my part and I take full responsibility.
"I'm ready for any consequences that the NBA will give me. ... That's out of character for me. You've been around me, I don't act like that, never (lash) out like that. ... Hopefully, I can be in contact with the young girl and sincerely apologize to her and do something nice for her."
Bridges was ejected with 6:39 remaining in the game and Charlotte trailing by 31 points after he received back-to-back technical fouls for vehemently disagreeing with a goaltending call. As he entered the tunnel toward the locker room, he removed his mouthpiece and threw it into the stands, hitting a young fan in the face.
Miles Bridges was ejected after arguing this goaltend call. pic.twitter.com/ijvc7SxlNF
— ESPN (@espn) April 14, 2022
In the above video, Bridges appears to stare at a man sitting by the tunnel apparently heckling the Hornets forward as he exits. Security then approaches that same man, but it's unclear if he was ultimately punished.
The Hornets lost the game 132-103 and were eliminated from postseason contention in the play-in tournament for a second consecutive season.
