Brickman’s Routine At Bobcats Games Stymied By NBA Officials

By Don Muret, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

The Bobcats are managing their game operations without a familiar face early this season after the NBA ordered the team to suspend fan Howard Davenport’s brick-waving routine. An unidentified league official was watching the team’s November 1 opener on TV and observed Davenport and his young son, in the second row behind the basket, waving a 4-foot-high foam brick to distract opponents shooting free throws. Charlotte-based QSR Bojangles' sponsors the promotion and pays for Davenport’s two season tickets, priced at $75 a game. NBA reps called the Bobcats during the game and told the team to suspend the promotion until further notice, Bobcats VP/PR Scott Leightman said. “It was a bit too large,” Leightman said of the brick. “We need to see how we can reach a compromise to fit within the parameters of the NBA.” Davenport waved a brick of the same size for 13 previous NBA seasons, dating back to the Hornets’ last 12 years at Charlotte Coliseum and the Bobcats’ first season at the old facility. The promotion was discontinued during the ‘05-06 season, the Bobcats’ first year at Charlotte Bobcats Arena, before the team reached an agreement with Davenport and Bojangles’ to resurrect the routine this season. NBA officials were unavailable for comment.