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Mavericks Fan Mouths ‘Fire Nico' on JumboTron, Defying Dallas In-House PR Effort
It's been more than a week since the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. While Luka prepared to make his L.A. debut in front of Dirk Nowitzki on Monday night the Mavericks decided to start showing fans on the jumbotron again.
The team had apparently thought better of putting fans on the big screen during the first home game after the trade, assuming people would protest the trade and the people who made it—specifically general manager Nico Harrison.
But the Mavs couldn't just ignore the fans forever, so they started showing them on the scoreboard again during the second half of their game against the Sacramento Kings.
They immediately regretted that decision.
During a karaoke cam bit fans were singing along to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" when a fan put down his pretend microphone and pretty clearly mouthed the words "fire Nico." The camera immediately zoomed out and they cut to other fans.
the last dude screams "FIRE NICO!!" pic.twitter.com/jI1VBWEE2k
— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) February 11, 2025
During the Mavs Karaoke Cam a fan looked like he mouthed “FIRE NICO” and they quickly pulled out.
— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) February 11, 2025
This was the first time fans have been shown on the video board since The Trade. pic.twitter.com/WzMQQzyd4L
Suffice to say, the fans are not happy. Anthony Davis had a stellar debut, but is already out for an extended period of time with an injury. It seems unlikely public opinion in Dallas changes anytime soon.
And in-arena entertainment is just going to keep suffering because of it.
UPDATE: The fan has apparently been asked to leave.
The fan who mouthed “fire nico” to the jumbotron has been escorted out of AAC. To raucous booing. pic.twitter.com/QE7eJxS7gH
— RJ Coyle (@coylio33) February 11, 2025
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Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.