Thunder ball boy accused of sending tweets threatening Houston's Beverley
A ball boy for the Oklahoma City Thunder is being investigated for making an alleged death threat to Houston Rockets player Patrick Beverley, according to Oklahoma City police.
According to CBSSports.com, Thunder ball boy Mitchell Brown reportedly sent out a tweet on his own account that read, "Patrick Beverly, I'm coming to kill you," police said. Brown also sent a similar tweet to Beverley's official Twitter account, saying, "@pavbev21 I'm coming to kill you," police said.
The incident is believed to have stemmed from a play in which Beverley injured Russell Westbrook, which tore Westbrook's meniscus, requiring surgery and forcing him to miss the remainder of the playoffs.
Oklahoma City police spokesman Capt. Dexter Nelson said his department is working with Houston police and NBA security officials in what is being described as "internet threats," according to the Houston Chronicle.
Thunder spokesman Matt Tumbleson said of both the incident and Brown, "We do not condone his comments. He works game nights on a voluntary basis. We will handle this matter internally."
Brown subsequently deleted his tweets and reportedly replaced them with an apology.
"Yesterday I posted something completely inappropriate and I need to apologize. I was out of line and it will not happen again."
However, reports now say that the 17-year-old Brown also deleted his apology tweet and is now claiming his account was hacked, according to the CBS report. Before he subsequently deleted the entire Twitter account, Brown sent out one last tweet to Beverley.
"@patbev21 yesterday someone tweeted on my account making a death threat towards you and it wasn't me. I apologize."
