The incident unfolded in the third quarter of Wednesday night's Lakers vs. Kings game, after Jarred Vanderbilt blocked a 10-foot floater from Malik Monk and the ball rolled out of bounds into the lap of a courtside fan.

The former college basketball player passed the ball back to the referee with too much force, prompting Luka Dončić to question the gesture.

According to The California Post's Khobi Price, Dončić said, "He just tossed – really strong – the ball towards the ref. I was just asking him what the hell is he doing?" With 2:35 left in the quarter, the fan was escorted out of the arena.

Three days later, Kellie DeMarco — a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist turned motivational speaker — addressed the viral moment in an Instagram post on Saturday.

Per the New York Post, she wrote alongside a photo of the couple courtside: "When date night goes viral... 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!"

Yahoo Sports also quotes her explanation that "the chest pass muscle memory never left him," adding that he "meant no harm, feels terrible that it came across the wrong way, and has nothing but respect for the officials."

Both outlets note the humor and surprise driving the story's spread. The New York Post reports DeMarco has been receiving comments saying her husband resembles Warriors coach Steve Kerr — a comparison she leaned into.

Yahoo Sports says she shut the joke down directly: "And no, he is not Steve Kerr, I've read the comments." The incident also went viral because many fans questioned why such a docile moment led to an ejection, given the usual precedent for what it takes to get a fan removed from an NBA game.

DeMarco closed her post by thanking fans for the kind messages and affirming the couple's loyalty: "We love the Kings and this community." Yahoo Sports suggests the Kings could reach out to the couple with tickets to another game, arguing the ejection was nothing more than a misunderstanding.

The outlets also note the irony that Dončić — a player with a long history of issues with referees himself — was the one who called out the fan's forceful pass, adding a layer of subtext that has kept the clip circulating days after the final buzzer.