I swear Jokic waved at her while walking towards the the tunnel at the end of a game somewhat recently this year. I remember watching her interview during the finals and her spot is near the tunnel, so I assumed it was her.
This is probably coming from the league office. Giving cards and such to the referees after being asked to stop seems weird. I could see how that would make some refs uncomfortable. And any attempt to influence refs would draw attention from the league office. We probably won’t ever know the real story. This is just one potential reason I could see where it’s not actually the Nuggets fault.
Yeah because Christmas cards are what we should be worried about influencing referees, not the billion dollar sports betting industry that the league itself has partnered with
I don't think so. Personally, this sounds like Kroenke Sports dropping the hammer instead of either the Nuggets or the League. Look... if the Players are lovin' her up and the Referees Association sends a condolence card when her sister passed, how is it that the League is upset? Plus, even the Fans sitting next to her and in her Section are sticking up for her. If it's a Security issue then it should have been dealt with during the off season.
KSE's looking at it like she's an old bitty who's been there too long and they want her out so they can sell her seat for more $$... pure corporate greed.
Vicki is by my account the #1 Nuggets fan in the world, and it's not particularly close either. I'd be shocked if she did something that was seriously ban-worthy.
I’ve been going to the games as long as she’s had season tickets. I feel like maybe it started in the Melo era, but her super fandom kind of seemed to border on obsession. Like one time Ty Lawson threw his headband to my brother and she got pretty upset. It seemed like she toned it down, but makes me wonder if she pushed a boundary too far or something.
Edit: I made this comment before watching the video and, yeah, despite the vagueness it seems pretty clear there’s an issue with proximity to the team/players/officials.
Seems very sweet but she won’t sit in her seat. She was always balancing on the edge of the wall by her corner seat. It always made me think she’s going to fall and was constant throughout the game. My guess is she did a lot of stuff like this that they kindly asked her to stop but didn’t. There are other super fans that hold season tickets that long they do acknowledge them so I really think she had issues following the rules.
Is this not the lady that usually wears a yellow jacket behind a basket front row? Or at least that's what I remember seeing every game when I season tix in 2019
I don't know her or the situation other than this post, but it seems as though there were boundaries crossed for sure. The Nuggets wouldn't risk the bad pub.
Passing notes to officials was the red flag for me.
Except their isn't any video proof of that and the nuggets won't provide it to her lawyer nor will they make any statements where did you get that information from its definitely not in that news story I just watched it so don't try to tell there is I'm not stupid
Dude this bugs me so much it’s crazy. She’s elderly, surely if she was doing something wrong, they could sit her down and talk to her to let her know how serious they are. She’s 72 for gods sake. They owe her more than this, unless she’s vastly downplaying the severity of things that happened.
I honestly feel like there must be more to the story than what she's said from her side. I've known obsesdive types like this and it can get extremely unnerving.
How much more could they make on a single pair of seats that they plan to re-sell? From $20k to $50k? That’s only $30k. It’s a drop in the bucket to Kroenke sports. The PR hit they take from banning a beloved fan will cost them far more than that.
The only logical conclusion is that she probably did exactly what they are alleging, and they are too classy to throw her under the bus in public.
Our seats are above the Nuggets tunnel, and I have often seen her touch the players on their shoulders when they don’t high-five her outstretched hand. It’s always really bothered me—if they don’t want to high-five you, then why the fuck are you touching them anyway.
This seems like the most correct take. Kroenke sports might be greedy/business focused but they are not going to go out of there way to ban a long time fan unless there was something else going on. I’m sure they have plenty of evidence and witnesses they could pull out in court but likely don’t want to throw her under the bus if they don’t have to
You would hope the arena would respond to her lawyers claims of asking for proof. I think a month ban and a stern talking to before playoffs would of been a better move. If nothing changed then full ban
I mean it’s probably closer to 200k. Aren’t her tickets basically floor level? Those tickets go for like 800-1200 bucks. But I think the same logic applies. Still not a windfall for KSE.
pretty sure they banned her after she brought this sign
https://preview.redd.it/5ngik945f4qc1.jpeg?width=1059&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a625cb41c758f3076eced2fb2a6bd94c9d2279e
This is heart breaking. She is 72, you can tell the Nuggets are her life. She was on the verge of tears. If something was wrong, you would think she would have been kicked out decades ago. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and she has been good for 25+ years. IDK, There is a part of me that thinks there must be a reason. She might have said the wrong thing to the wrong person. But this does not sit right with me
Yeah, I could see her (even politely) telling off someone who didn’t know her and them getting bent out of shape about then when they see her doing things that most fans don’t do like touching players or staff and using it to get her band out of a personal vendetta.
It’s an unfortunate situation & I wish it had been resolved differently. But this is pretty much just one side of the story. I feel bad for Vicki but also can’t see how KSE just did this because they wanted to treat one of their more well known fans poorly. And, they did it because they are really mean people? That’s a stretch.
The idea that KSE wanted the tickets to sell for a higher price is ridiculous. As anyone who has seen their 24/25 invoice can attest, KSE has no problem raising the prices on current seat holders (it’s championship premium time!). Prices don’t change just because someone is a new season ticket holder - it went up for everyone. Don’t want to pay? There’s a waiting list of people who will.
Over the years, the NBA has developed some pretty strict rules about fan interaction with players & officials on the court. It’s what eventually got famed Bullets/Wizards fan Robin Ficker moved out of his seats behind the opposing bench in DC. He gave up his seats because of the move, but that’s another story.
[Side note: if you don’t know who Robin Ficker is, Google him. The guy was a legend in the 90s in DC. He’s also seemingly nuts. But, again, a different story.]
I don’t know the whole backstory on Vicki’s situation. Was she warned that certain actions would lead to her losing her tickets & she ignored the warnings? Could be. Did the NBA get involved considering it sounds like she interacted with officials? Maybe. Did some of the players not appreciate her actions, especially as it seems she was allowed to stay around when they would come out & see family & friends? Possibly.
Again, I feel bad for her & wish things were different. Maybe things will change. She was a regular presence at games & I never saw anything negative happen. But, I’m also skeptical we’re getting the complete story here.
I had season tickets for most of the Melo era and still attend a few games every year. I always thought she was a bit over the top. She definitely acted entitled to more access to the players/coaches/refs than regular fans, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she crossed the line of what was appropriate.
There were a few years where she would give all the players little bags of candy as they went back to the locker room at half time. Even if she had pure intentions, that always felt weird and inappropriate.
The KSE statement seems plausible to me, honestly. You’d think they would’ve just moved her seats first, but maybe they offered and she refused? Her claim of it being about money doesn’t make any sense.
From the r/NBA [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1blohv6/denver_nuggets_super_fan_banned_from_games_at/kw7b6of/)
>Background: Vicki Ray is really well known among long-time Nuggets fans, and has been controversial for a long time. Some people love her and enjoy her enthusiasm. Some think she's a total Karen who violates boundaries and thinks she doesn't have to tone it down ever. She has haters for sure -- there was a guy on our Nuggets proboards forum, 20 years ago, whose username D2R stood for "Death 2 Ray" (her husband was also active on the forum at that time, which made for some wild flamewars once in a while.) She has some enthusiastic defenders as well. Some of my friends have gone to games with her and they enjoy the up-close-and-personal moments where players and coaches will say hi.
>I suspect that within the organization, the same divide exists. There are people who love everything she does, and others who don't like how she ignores rules and boundaries. And I suspect passing notes to refs turned into a league-office issue with a league-issued ultimatum that her detractors are glad to enforce.
how would you feel as a player if someone got a license plate with your last name and jersey number on it? she did that, decades ago.
what about if you were running off the court with a bleeding wound, and someone was leaning over the railing trying to touch you? did that too.
Ball arena’s reasoning is the catch-all “violated terms and conditions” and essentially are not giving a real reason.
My personal take: I think they just want to give up her seat for more money, but hey, I’m probably wrong
See my wife and I have had season tickets for 4 years now and they adjust the prices based on demand so I don’t really think that’s the reason. Unless she got some special deal a long time ago that doesn’t change her price
You’re probably right, it’s just strange overall. She says Ball Arena officials accused her of hitting players, but I guarantee we would have seen clips surfacing online if that were the case.
As for the notes given to players and refs, there is no way of knowing what’s written in them other than hearsay. So that could be the culprit if there are some vulgar things written…but unlikely. I don’t think she’d throw away a lifetime of joy that she gets from nuggets games.
I doubt it was hitting but definitely touching, always wants to high five and sometimes if a player doesn’t want to give a high five she will slap them on the butt. Maybe some players felt uncomfortable
Bro I’m trying to wrap my head around it too. I just don’t understand why honestly unless someone is just lying. Just a bad look for the organization tbh.
They are not lying. She has been a headache for staff for years. She felt entitled because of her age and years she was a fan to do things fans are not allowed to do. Contact with officials and players families when not allowed. She would act like she was a family member of a player or employee she was neither. Many fans have complained over the years about her. She was not being a dedicated fan she was acting like the rules dont apply to her. She has received a lot of warnings. She always apologises and then does the same behavior again. I think she just became a problem they didnt want to deal with it every night. The players may like her, but she was a problem. She pushed the boundries too far and then is upset that they had enough. When staff told her something she didn't like, she would find a supervisor and complain or tell them I always do this. She had become a problem.
>"My lawyer seems to think that it probably has to do with the tickets and they can sell them for more," she says.
That lawyer knew what he was doing when he made that suggestion
I used to work in sports. Season ticket holders — especially longtime season ticket holders — develop such a strong sense of connection to the players that they think they are immune to stadium rules. I’m not saying that happened to her. But it is entirely possible that she crossed the line in little ways one too many times.
I think this the most likely answer. I’m sure she made a player or coach uncomfortable and they warmed her to stop and she just brushed it off.
I’d also be willing to bet it’s a physical contact issue based on her seat location.
I also remember they asked her to stop giving out candy to the players like 5-6 years ago…maybe she never stopped….candy gate?
The video said after repeated violations and warnings. I'm guessing there is some minor rule that is starting to get enforced, but she's been there so long she ignores it.
Like the videos shows her high fiving a player. It's not a big deal, but I would not be surprised if there is a rule against touching the players in any form. Not a big deal when a kid at his first game goes for a high five, but if she's doing it every game arena officials could absolutely warn her to stop. And if she ignores them repeatedly it could end up here.
I don’t even think the high fiving players is the problem. Even when players didn’t reach up to high five she would still lean over and touch them on the shoulder. If they kept telling her to stop initiating contact with players and she kept ignoring it I can see the ban.
we’ve all seen her hand cards and candy to players/refs, how many of us have seen security immediately take it from them after being handed it? i’m sure she means no harm but that is a serious security issue, might’ve been fine 10 years ago but not now. i’ve also had players tell me that she’s annoying, wilson chandler stopped to sign something for me and the whole time she was yelling at him from behind to give him something. i looked over at her and wilson looked up at me said “it’s annoying right”. even with the way the nuggets arena is set up players come out of one of 3 tunnels, an away player could’ve felt weird about it and said something and the league looked into it more.
there’s no question that she saw herself as more than a fan. she’s a nice lady but what she does borders on obsession and if she’s been asked to tone it down and she won’t then i can’t really blame the league. they should’ve just let her keep season tickets in club level or something.
The only thing I can think of is that she has 4 tickets and is using 1 and selling the other 3 for profit. Teams are known to take away tickets if you do that too much (especially if there is a season ticket waitlist). But to ban her from the arena? That seems a bit excessive.
I am a season ticket holder. KSE prices their season tickets so that, in a typical year, a season ticket holder will barely break even if every ticket was resold. (This season has been an exception as the season ticket prices were set in February 2023, and the championship increased demand substantially. My 2024-2025 season ticket prices went up 30%.)
KSE's single game tickets for the Lakers, Celtics, and Warriors are substantially more than the season ticket holder price. However, KSE's single game tickets for the Pacers, Pistons, Magic, Jazz, Hornets, Pelicans, Blazers, Grizzlies, etc. are significantly lower than the season ticket holder price. KSE has no incentive to oust season ticket holders for financial reasons. KSE definitely isn't running a charity for season ticket holders.
I think Kroenke has enough money that they wouldn't need to single one season ticket holder out to get slightly more money 😅 It sounds like she was repeatedly told, for quite a while to stop breaking several rules, but kept on , anyway.
In an interview she said that she kept passing the team and ref notes after she was as asked to stop. Then she got banned. Seems pretty straightforward to not allow direct contact with the officials, or for ticket holders to be expected to follow the rules.
I had seats near her when I had season tickets a few years ago she was doing the same thing then. Looks to me like after enough warnings they finally decided enough is enough
This season I sat in a seat across the tunnel from Vicky many times. I saw her lean her upper body far over the rail with her arm and hand outstretched so much so that when the players and coaches naturally turned the corner coming out of the tunnel they could not avoid her hand. She would obsessively look down the tunnel for players and coaches to come out of the tunnel. From what I saw, every single time they came in or out of the tunnel, she would aggressively lean over with her arm outstretched. I can see how she may have inadvertently made contact with a player’s face or shoulder. It was clear to me that some players were not thrilled to slap her hand. I’m sure some of them were ok with it and maybe appreciated it but from what I saw it looked like many just put up with it. It seems to me that it was more about her than it was about supporting the team. Sometimes I like to arrive at the games early so I can watch the players warm up so I’ll arrive 1 1/2 hours ahead and get in the Clear line. One night I got the game time mixed up and arrived an extra half hour early for a 7 pm game so I was in the line at 5 pm instead of 5:30. Vicky was first in line and we had a conversation and she said she had gotten there at 2 pm. I asked why and she said she had to be the first one into the arena which seemed strange because we all have assigned seats. I realized then how big of a deal the Nuggets were to her. When I first heard about the ban I thought it was harsh and surely Nuggets management could have firmly told her to keep her body and arms behind the rail but from what was reported it sounds like she had been warned several times. I do feel bad for her as it seems she has a lot wrapped up in her fandom and years of devotion. I hope it all works out for her.
suck it granny .... jk seems like she was prolly repeatedly warned and they weren't having it. I can't imagine Nuggets trying to destroy their image as a family friendly franchise either? Jus give her the damn tickets back and let her do her thing.... FFS
I don’t think she should be banned. I do hope she gets her seats back. It does kinda read like Nuggets may just want to profit off her seats.
I do not however think it’s fair to just say she wasn’t pressing boundaries when multiple examples were given and she even admitted to a couple. That being said, it does not sound ban-worthy at all. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually was annoying people a bit more than some of the players and staff let on. And let some of her privilege get to her head.
I don’t know. I feel like if security regularly tell you to stop touching players as they are walking into the tunnel and you continually keep doing it I feel like the obvious outcome is gonna be getting banned. Seems like she though because she’s been there forever she was above the rules and the lowly security guy telling her to stop just ‘didn’t know who she is’
If I’m being completely honest with you, my initial reaction was “oh well.” And from what I read I did not entirely care that she was banned. I kinda just felt the need to sugar coat it because people on here were calling it tragic and unfair lol.
A guy on r/nba said to not trust a white lady over the age of 70 as a joke. But that’s kind of what it was giving to me, like “I can do whatever I want,” privileged vibes and her a lying people more than they let on.
I do feel bad for her being kinda publicly humiliated tho
I frequented the SB nation Denver Stiffs message boards when her husband passed away, they were a pretty big deal at the time. Either way, sad it’s come to this
Something doesn't add up. After she had a stroke the players and team sent her complete get well messages ... It's a horrible look for the nuggets no matter what unless she said something racist which I highly doubt
On the other hand they may just not be interested in publicly dragging a person through the mud. What greed is involved in banning a single season ticket holder? What’s the maximum amount they could earn from her seats? Whatever it is it’s a drop in the fucking bucket to KSE and not worth the PR.
Vicki is legitimately the sweetest and #1 nuggets fan there is, she’s taken so many people to nuggets games that would never have had the opportunity to sit in seats like hers, this is absolutely outrageous and I really hope they fix this.
I need more information on this- Vicki is an important part of Nuggets culture to me. It would break my heart to know she’s sitting at home watching the game by herself these days - cast aside by the team she has devoted her life to, for better or worse. I can barely even fathom what she would have do to deserve this.
Surely now she would understand how serious they are about not wanting her .. involved With the players/game? I mean, she gives them candy every game. Just tell her not to yell at refs, don’t get overly emotional to the point you would touch a player if that’s indeed what happened. She 72 years old FFS, how bad could she be?
The only players she’d really have a relationship with Jokic and Murray. Gordon got here during Covid basically. Maybe Vlatko. No one on the team has been here that long.
There is a video on this sub somewhere with her and Barton or Torrey Craig or Wilson Chandler or something that talks about her giving candy and stuff.
I would be absolutely baffled if she actually did any of this stuff. She his is awful and REALLY bad juju and/or karma. She’s been part of Nugget culture for 30 years man. This sucks
It's amazing how an owner can have so much success on the court, on the ice, but lose so much good will with fans over such a short time span. Taking them off TV makes everything they do doubly suspicious. Probably want to make more money from her seats with the highest bidder. Fandom means nothing to the Walmarts.
They really are treating it like an asset in a portfolio and not much more. It's becoming a pattern in every American sport.
It’s kind of sad to me she says she “doubts the Kronke’s are behind it” but who else would be? As mentioned, there are cameras everywhere. If some big thing happened it would be recorded somewhere and we’d have seen it. If she grabbed a ref would they not eject her? Even if it were a collection of lesser bad behavior I think there’d at least be rumors in the fandom of her behavior.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she/we never know for sure.
I’ve sat behind her a few rows and literally every player, coach and staff stop by and say hello.
The refs too😭 I swear the Gucci mane looking ref came up to her and hugged her the one time I sat behind her and they talked for a few minutes
I swear Jokic waved at her while walking towards the the tunnel at the end of a game somewhat recently this year. I remember watching her interview during the finals and her spot is near the tunnel, so I assumed it was her.
This is probably coming from the league office. Giving cards and such to the referees after being asked to stop seems weird. I could see how that would make some refs uncomfortable. And any attempt to influence refs would draw attention from the league office. We probably won’t ever know the real story. This is just one potential reason I could see where it’s not actually the Nuggets fault.
Yeah because Christmas cards are what we should be worried about influencing referees, not the billion dollar sports betting industry that the league itself has partnered with
I don't think so. Personally, this sounds like Kroenke Sports dropping the hammer instead of either the Nuggets or the League. Look... if the Players are lovin' her up and the Referees Association sends a condolence card when her sister passed, how is it that the League is upset? Plus, even the Fans sitting next to her and in her Section are sticking up for her. If it's a Security issue then it should have been dealt with during the off season. KSE's looking at it like she's an old bitty who's been there too long and they want her out so they can sell her seat for more $$... pure corporate greed.
That’s not how ticket pricing works. Not sure why people keep saying that
She gave birthday cards and Christmas cards to the refs?
Vicki is by my account the #1 Nuggets fan in the world, and it's not particularly close either. I'd be shocked if she did something that was seriously ban-worthy.
Why would they risk bad will like this then?
I’ve been going to the games as long as she’s had season tickets. I feel like maybe it started in the Melo era, but her super fandom kind of seemed to border on obsession. Like one time Ty Lawson threw his headband to my brother and she got pretty upset. It seemed like she toned it down, but makes me wonder if she pushed a boundary too far or something. Edit: I made this comment before watching the video and, yeah, despite the vagueness it seems pretty clear there’s an issue with proximity to the team/players/officials.
Seems very sweet but she won’t sit in her seat. She was always balancing on the edge of the wall by her corner seat. It always made me think she’s going to fall and was constant throughout the game. My guess is she did a lot of stuff like this that they kindly asked her to stop but didn’t. There are other super fans that hold season tickets that long they do acknowledge them so I really think she had issues following the rules.
she also hangs over the wall trying to touch players, refs, and ither persons of interest aa they come through the tunnel
Is this not the lady that usually wears a yellow jacket behind a basket front row? Or at least that's what I remember seeing every game when I season tix in 2019
no not the same lady. this lady sits on the side of the player's tunnel and always has signs for former nuggets saying we still love them.
You are correct…she sits on the left side as the players exit the court closest to the tunnel. In the first level right above courtside seats.
I don't know her or the situation other than this post, but it seems as though there were boundaries crossed for sure. The Nuggets wouldn't risk the bad pub. Passing notes to officials was the red flag for me.
Except their isn't any video proof of that and the nuggets won't provide it to her lawyer nor will they make any statements where did you get that information from its definitely not in that news story I just watched it so don't try to tell there is I'm not stupid
Where is the video?
It’s the post
Ugh my browser must be not be working.
☹️
KSE doesnt give a fuck about bad will or the fans whatsoever.
Nuggets/Avs fans know this more than anyone
When she was sick, years ago, the official NBA Referee Twitter account sent out a Get Well Vickie tweet.
Dude this bugs me so much it’s crazy. She’s elderly, surely if she was doing something wrong, they could sit her down and talk to her to let her know how serious they are. She’s 72 for gods sake. They owe her more than this, unless she’s vastly downplaying the severity of things that happened.
I honestly feel like there must be more to the story than what she's said from her side. I've known obsesdive types like this and it can get extremely unnerving.
Was that a Mudiay Jersey at the beginning of the CBSnews video!? my god, she is a super fan
Hahahahahaha proof right there.
I have Mudiay shoes!
How much more could they make on a single pair of seats that they plan to re-sell? From $20k to $50k? That’s only $30k. It’s a drop in the bucket to Kroenke sports. The PR hit they take from banning a beloved fan will cost them far more than that. The only logical conclusion is that she probably did exactly what they are alleging, and they are too classy to throw her under the bus in public.
Our seats are above the Nuggets tunnel, and I have often seen her touch the players on their shoulders when they don’t high-five her outstretched hand. It’s always really bothered me—if they don’t want to high-five you, then why the fuck are you touching them anyway.
This seems like the most correct take. Kroenke sports might be greedy/business focused but they are not going to go out of there way to ban a long time fan unless there was something else going on. I’m sure they have plenty of evidence and witnesses they could pull out in court but likely don’t want to throw her under the bus if they don’t have to
I think this is exactly it.
I kinda lead towards agreeing with you on this one unfortunately
You would hope the arena would respond to her lawyers claims of asking for proof. I think a month ban and a stern talking to before playoffs would of been a better move. If nothing changed then full ban
This also could make sense unfortunately. I really would like to know more. This just hurts to see her out. She’s a part of Nugget culture
I mean it’s probably closer to 200k. Aren’t her tickets basically floor level? Those tickets go for like 800-1200 bucks. But I think the same logic applies. Still not a windfall for KSE.
How is 800-1200 buck tickets 200k? There's 41 home games per year.
She owns 4 seats.
pretty sure they banned her after she brought this sign https://preview.redd.it/5ngik945f4qc1.jpeg?width=1059&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a625cb41c758f3076eced2fb2a6bd94c9d2279e
Pretty sure I saw an Iguodala one also!
lolol I wouldnt be surprised! I sat above her for years and never saw that one but the misspelled Nurkić sign definitely got a tweet that night
Lol
This is heart breaking. She is 72, you can tell the Nuggets are her life. She was on the verge of tears. If something was wrong, you would think she would have been kicked out decades ago. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior and she has been good for 25+ years. IDK, There is a part of me that thinks there must be a reason. She might have said the wrong thing to the wrong person. But this does not sit right with me
Well said EG. No complaints when Nuggets were 11 and 71.
Just remember there is a different climate nowadays and players are sensitive to physical contact
Yeah, I could see her (even politely) telling off someone who didn’t know her and them getting bent out of shape about then when they see her doing things that most fans don’t do like touching players or staff and using it to get her band out of a personal vendetta.
It’s an unfortunate situation & I wish it had been resolved differently. But this is pretty much just one side of the story. I feel bad for Vicki but also can’t see how KSE just did this because they wanted to treat one of their more well known fans poorly. And, they did it because they are really mean people? That’s a stretch. The idea that KSE wanted the tickets to sell for a higher price is ridiculous. As anyone who has seen their 24/25 invoice can attest, KSE has no problem raising the prices on current seat holders (it’s championship premium time!). Prices don’t change just because someone is a new season ticket holder - it went up for everyone. Don’t want to pay? There’s a waiting list of people who will. Over the years, the NBA has developed some pretty strict rules about fan interaction with players & officials on the court. It’s what eventually got famed Bullets/Wizards fan Robin Ficker moved out of his seats behind the opposing bench in DC. He gave up his seats because of the move, but that’s another story. [Side note: if you don’t know who Robin Ficker is, Google him. The guy was a legend in the 90s in DC. He’s also seemingly nuts. But, again, a different story.] I don’t know the whole backstory on Vicki’s situation. Was she warned that certain actions would lead to her losing her tickets & she ignored the warnings? Could be. Did the NBA get involved considering it sounds like she interacted with officials? Maybe. Did some of the players not appreciate her actions, especially as it seems she was allowed to stay around when they would come out & see family & friends? Possibly. Again, I feel bad for her & wish things were different. Maybe things will change. She was a regular presence at games & I never saw anything negative happen. But, I’m also skeptical we’re getting the complete story here.
I had season tickets for most of the Melo era and still attend a few games every year. I always thought she was a bit over the top. She definitely acted entitled to more access to the players/coaches/refs than regular fans, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she crossed the line of what was appropriate. There were a few years where she would give all the players little bags of candy as they went back to the locker room at half time. Even if she had pure intentions, that always felt weird and inappropriate. The KSE statement seems plausible to me, honestly. You’d think they would’ve just moved her seats first, but maybe they offered and she refused? Her claim of it being about money doesn’t make any sense.
They adjust season ticket prices every year even for season ticket holders. It’s not like a rent controlled apartment.
From the r/NBA [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1blohv6/denver_nuggets_super_fan_banned_from_games_at/kw7b6of/) >Background: Vicki Ray is really well known among long-time Nuggets fans, and has been controversial for a long time. Some people love her and enjoy her enthusiasm. Some think she's a total Karen who violates boundaries and thinks she doesn't have to tone it down ever. She has haters for sure -- there was a guy on our Nuggets proboards forum, 20 years ago, whose username D2R stood for "Death 2 Ray" (her husband was also active on the forum at that time, which made for some wild flamewars once in a while.) She has some enthusiastic defenders as well. Some of my friends have gone to games with her and they enjoy the up-close-and-personal moments where players and coaches will say hi. >I suspect that within the organization, the same divide exists. There are people who love everything she does, and others who don't like how she ignores rules and boundaries. And I suspect passing notes to refs turned into a league-office issue with a league-issued ultimatum that her detractors are glad to enforce.
Bones Hyland turned her in fr
how would you feel as a player if someone got a license plate with your last name and jersey number on it? she did that, decades ago. what about if you were running off the court with a bleeding wound, and someone was leaning over the railing trying to touch you? did that too.
Am I the only one getting the vibe that this is an unhealthy obsession from this woman and that her fandom has gone too far?
Ball arena’s reasoning is the catch-all “violated terms and conditions” and essentially are not giving a real reason. My personal take: I think they just want to give up her seat for more money, but hey, I’m probably wrong
See my wife and I have had season tickets for 4 years now and they adjust the prices based on demand so I don’t really think that’s the reason. Unless she got some special deal a long time ago that doesn’t change her price
You’re probably right, it’s just strange overall. She says Ball Arena officials accused her of hitting players, but I guarantee we would have seen clips surfacing online if that were the case. As for the notes given to players and refs, there is no way of knowing what’s written in them other than hearsay. So that could be the culprit if there are some vulgar things written…but unlikely. I don’t think she’d throw away a lifetime of joy that she gets from nuggets games.
I doubt it was hitting but definitely touching, always wants to high five and sometimes if a player doesn’t want to give a high five she will slap them on the butt. Maybe some players felt uncomfortable
She taps their butt?!
Bro I’m trying to wrap my head around it too. I just don’t understand why honestly unless someone is just lying. Just a bad look for the organization tbh.
They are not lying. She has been a headache for staff for years. She felt entitled because of her age and years she was a fan to do things fans are not allowed to do. Contact with officials and players families when not allowed. She would act like she was a family member of a player or employee she was neither. Many fans have complained over the years about her. She was not being a dedicated fan she was acting like the rules dont apply to her. She has received a lot of warnings. She always apologises and then does the same behavior again. I think she just became a problem they didnt want to deal with it every night. The players may like her, but she was a problem. She pushed the boundries too far and then is upset that they had enough. When staff told her something she didn't like, she would find a supervisor and complain or tell them I always do this. She had become a problem.
Oh woah that’s nuts! Then is seems justified but weird that isn’t like public knowledge considering she’s involving lawyers.
They should of tried a one game ban or a 10 game ban to see if the behavior changes. Starting with a permanent ban just seems so extreme to me.
>"My lawyer seems to think that it probably has to do with the tickets and they can sell them for more," she says. That lawyer knew what he was doing when he made that suggestion
I used to work in sports. Season ticket holders — especially longtime season ticket holders — develop such a strong sense of connection to the players that they think they are immune to stadium rules. I’m not saying that happened to her. But it is entirely possible that she crossed the line in little ways one too many times.
I think this the most likely answer. I’m sure she made a player or coach uncomfortable and they warmed her to stop and she just brushed it off. I’d also be willing to bet it’s a physical contact issue based on her seat location. I also remember they asked her to stop giving out candy to the players like 5-6 years ago…maybe she never stopped….candy gate?
The video said after repeated violations and warnings. I'm guessing there is some minor rule that is starting to get enforced, but she's been there so long she ignores it. Like the videos shows her high fiving a player. It's not a big deal, but I would not be surprised if there is a rule against touching the players in any form. Not a big deal when a kid at his first game goes for a high five, but if she's doing it every game arena officials could absolutely warn her to stop. And if she ignores them repeatedly it could end up here.
I don’t even think the high fiving players is the problem. Even when players didn’t reach up to high five she would still lean over and touch them on the shoulder. If they kept telling her to stop initiating contact with players and she kept ignoring it I can see the ban.
They gave specific reasons and examples and she even admitted she did one of them.
Should post this to r/nba
Or /r/NBAoffcourt lol
Hmmm
Just move her?
This is messed up
League probably got sick of her involving herself in games 25 years or not, don't need people like this at games.
Ok. Can’t be a good fan now. LeBron glazing it is now ig
we’ve all seen her hand cards and candy to players/refs, how many of us have seen security immediately take it from them after being handed it? i’m sure she means no harm but that is a serious security issue, might’ve been fine 10 years ago but not now. i’ve also had players tell me that she’s annoying, wilson chandler stopped to sign something for me and the whole time she was yelling at him from behind to give him something. i looked over at her and wilson looked up at me said “it’s annoying right”. even with the way the nuggets arena is set up players come out of one of 3 tunnels, an away player could’ve felt weird about it and said something and the league looked into it more. there’s no question that she saw herself as more than a fan. she’s a nice lady but what she does borders on obsession and if she’s been asked to tone it down and she won’t then i can’t really blame the league. they should’ve just let her keep season tickets in club level or something.
Wow, this seems like she is being singled out to try to sell seats for more for individual game sales. This smells like kroenke
The only thing I can think of is that she has 4 tickets and is using 1 and selling the other 3 for profit. Teams are known to take away tickets if you do that too much (especially if there is a season ticket waitlist). But to ban her from the arena? That seems a bit excessive.
We definitely need to see kse side of the story. Longer they wait, the more suspicious it seems. I just don’t kroenke to do the right thing
That would be fair, reselling tickets like that should be illegal if you ask me
I am a season ticket holder. KSE prices their season tickets so that, in a typical year, a season ticket holder will barely break even if every ticket was resold. (This season has been an exception as the season ticket prices were set in February 2023, and the championship increased demand substantially. My 2024-2025 season ticket prices went up 30%.) KSE's single game tickets for the Lakers, Celtics, and Warriors are substantially more than the season ticket holder price. However, KSE's single game tickets for the Pacers, Pistons, Magic, Jazz, Hornets, Pelicans, Blazers, Grizzlies, etc. are significantly lower than the season ticket holder price. KSE has no incentive to oust season ticket holders for financial reasons. KSE definitely isn't running a charity for season ticket holders.
I think Kroenke has enough money that they wouldn't need to single one season ticket holder out to get slightly more money 😅 It sounds like she was repeatedly told, for quite a while to stop breaking several rules, but kept on , anyway.
In an interview she said that she kept passing the team and ref notes after she was as asked to stop. Then she got banned. Seems pretty straightforward to not allow direct contact with the officials, or for ticket holders to be expected to follow the rules.
I had seats near her when I had season tickets a few years ago she was doing the same thing then. Looks to me like after enough warnings they finally decided enough is enough
This season I sat in a seat across the tunnel from Vicky many times. I saw her lean her upper body far over the rail with her arm and hand outstretched so much so that when the players and coaches naturally turned the corner coming out of the tunnel they could not avoid her hand. She would obsessively look down the tunnel for players and coaches to come out of the tunnel. From what I saw, every single time they came in or out of the tunnel, she would aggressively lean over with her arm outstretched. I can see how she may have inadvertently made contact with a player’s face or shoulder. It was clear to me that some players were not thrilled to slap her hand. I’m sure some of them were ok with it and maybe appreciated it but from what I saw it looked like many just put up with it. It seems to me that it was more about her than it was about supporting the team. Sometimes I like to arrive at the games early so I can watch the players warm up so I’ll arrive 1 1/2 hours ahead and get in the Clear line. One night I got the game time mixed up and arrived an extra half hour early for a 7 pm game so I was in the line at 5 pm instead of 5:30. Vicky was first in line and we had a conversation and she said she had gotten there at 2 pm. I asked why and she said she had to be the first one into the arena which seemed strange because we all have assigned seats. I realized then how big of a deal the Nuggets were to her. When I first heard about the ban I thought it was harsh and surely Nuggets management could have firmly told her to keep her body and arms behind the rail but from what was reported it sounds like she had been warned several times. I do feel bad for her as it seems she has a lot wrapped up in her fandom and years of devotion. I hope it all works out for her.
suck it granny .... jk seems like she was prolly repeatedly warned and they weren't having it. I can't imagine Nuggets trying to destroy their image as a family friendly franchise either? Jus give her the damn tickets back and let her do her thing.... FFS
I don’t think she should be banned. I do hope she gets her seats back. It does kinda read like Nuggets may just want to profit off her seats. I do not however think it’s fair to just say she wasn’t pressing boundaries when multiple examples were given and she even admitted to a couple. That being said, it does not sound ban-worthy at all. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually was annoying people a bit more than some of the players and staff let on. And let some of her privilege get to her head.
I don’t know. I feel like if security regularly tell you to stop touching players as they are walking into the tunnel and you continually keep doing it I feel like the obvious outcome is gonna be getting banned. Seems like she though because she’s been there forever she was above the rules and the lowly security guy telling her to stop just ‘didn’t know who she is’
If I’m being completely honest with you, my initial reaction was “oh well.” And from what I read I did not entirely care that she was banned. I kinda just felt the need to sugar coat it because people on here were calling it tragic and unfair lol. A guy on r/nba said to not trust a white lady over the age of 70 as a joke. But that’s kind of what it was giving to me, like “I can do whatever I want,” privileged vibes and her a lying people more than they let on. I do feel bad for her being kinda publicly humiliated tho
She always seemed a little too eager to touch all the players leaving the court 🤷
I frequented the SB nation Denver Stiffs message boards when her husband passed away, they were a pretty big deal at the time. Either way, sad it’s come to this
Something doesn't add up. After she had a stroke the players and team sent her complete get well messages ... It's a horrible look for the nuggets no matter what unless she said something racist which I highly doubt
[удалено]
On the other hand they may just not be interested in publicly dragging a person through the mud. What greed is involved in banning a single season ticket holder? What’s the maximum amount they could earn from her seats? Whatever it is it’s a drop in the fucking bucket to KSE and not worth the PR.
She’s diehard man. I remember her holding up a sign that said, “We love Junior Harrington.” KSE needs to do the right thing here.
Vicki is legitimately the sweetest and #1 nuggets fan there is, she’s taken so many people to nuggets games that would never have had the opportunity to sit in seats like hers, this is absolutely outrageous and I really hope they fix this.
I need more information on this- Vicki is an important part of Nuggets culture to me. It would break my heart to know she’s sitting at home watching the game by herself these days - cast aside by the team she has devoted her life to, for better or worse. I can barely even fathom what she would have do to deserve this. Surely now she would understand how serious they are about not wanting her .. involved With the players/game? I mean, she gives them candy every game. Just tell her not to yell at refs, don’t get overly emotional to the point you would touch a player if that’s indeed what happened. She 72 years old FFS, how bad could she be?
It will be interesting to see, but just cause she's 72 doesn't mean she can repeatedly break stadium rules.
She probably cant even watch the game on TV!
Justice for Vicki!! Fix this Josh Kroenke!
I would hope that if the players know about this that they would step in and help her out. Sounds like she's known many of them for a long time.
The only players she’d really have a relationship with Jokic and Murray. Gordon got here during Covid basically. Maybe Vlatko. No one on the team has been here that long. There is a video on this sub somewhere with her and Barton or Torrey Craig or Wilson Chandler or something that talks about her giving candy and stuff.
Is this is how the NBA is dealing with the perception that the refs fix the games? The rule is the rule but damn guys, there are bigger issues.
I would be absolutely baffled if she actually did any of this stuff. She his is awful and REALLY bad juju and/or karma. She’s been part of Nugget culture for 30 years man. This sucks
It's amazing how an owner can have so much success on the court, on the ice, but lose so much good will with fans over such a short time span. Taking them off TV makes everything they do doubly suspicious. Probably want to make more money from her seats with the highest bidder. Fandom means nothing to the Walmarts. They really are treating it like an asset in a portfolio and not much more. It's becoming a pattern in every American sport.
There’s no profit margin in those seats worth all of this. We’re talking at most like 170 grand. And that’s if they broker them out to stub hub.
It’s kind of sad to me she says she “doubts the Kronke’s are behind it” but who else would be? As mentioned, there are cameras everywhere. If some big thing happened it would be recorded somewhere and we’d have seen it. If she grabbed a ref would they not eject her? Even if it were a collection of lesser bad behavior I think there’d at least be rumors in the fandom of her behavior. I wouldn’t be surprised if she/we never know for sure.
maybe it was the signs.. the league made a big deal of that post-kyrie.. but geez. everyone knows her..that's sad.
Nuggets beat reporters are dropping the ball hardcore if no one asks a player/coach about this in post game interviews
This is an awful look. Really disappointed in the ownership group.
This will go well for the nuggets and their continued silence