The wife of the NBA fan who was kicked out of a game for powerfully throwing the ball at a female referee has said her ‘sweet’ husband ‘feels terrible.’

Late in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 116-103 win over the Sacramento Kings, LA’s Jarred Vanderbilt rejected a Malik Monk floater along the baseline, where the ball was caught by a spectator in the front row. 

That fan, who was identified as ‘Duncan’ by his wife, proceeded to throw a powerful chest pass back to rookie NBA official Chelisa Painter, who had some minor difficulty receiving the ball.

Painter did not appear to react one way or another to the pass, but an incredulous Luka Doncic was seen confronting the fan and he was later shown the door.

His wife, Kellie DeMarco, a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, finally addressed the incident on Instagram.

She posted a picture with her husband, Duncan, and captioned it: ‘When date night goes viral.’

Emmy-winning TV anchor Kellie DeMarco’s husband was kicked out of a Lakers game recently

‘Duncan’ was tossed after his crisp pass to rookie official Chelisa Painter in Sacramento

Painter did not appear to react one way or another to the pass but Luka Doncic was unhappy

‘Yes, this is my sweet husband, and yes, he’s the guy who got ejected from an NBA game.???? I spent nearly 20 years in TV news, and he’s getting more airtime than me,’ she continued. 

‘He played basketball for years, and apparently the chest pass muscle memory never left. He meant no harm, he feels terrible that it came across the wrong way, and he has nothing but respect for the officials.’

Duncan appeared to be laughing to himself as he was walked away from his seat by a team of security guards in grey blazers. 

But Doncic did not find the incident as funny, however, and described what he’d witnessed.

‘He just tossed – really strong – the ball towards the ref,’ Doncic later told veteran official and crew chief Ed Malloy, as overheard by courtside microphones. ‘I was just asking him what the hell is he doing?’

The Lakers’ broadcasters had a difficult vantage point to see the conflict in the corner of the court and were seemingly bewildered as the fan was confronted by security and quickly ejected.

‘Maybe they are asking somebody to please leave,’ Spectrum SportsNet’s Bill Macdonald said. ‘And there he goes.

‘Obviously something was being said right near the Laker bench,’ Macdonald added.