BOSTON — A Braintree man accused of throwing a plastic water bottle at former Celtic and current Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving heard stern words from DA Rachel Rollins on Wednesday.
“Thank you for Cole Buckley for not yelling a racial slur while you did this. But it is not lost on me, that he chose to do this in a sport that is overwhelmingly black men. We are not going to allow this trend to continue, period end of story,” said Rollins.
In court following Sunday night’s Celtics game, Cole Buckley, 21, is charged with one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
“Mr. Buckley is alleged to have thrown a water bottle toward the tunnel as the players were walking through – the bottle was alleged to have grazed Kyrie Irving – the alleged victim in this case,” said the prosecutor in court.
At court, Buckley’s lawyer tried to postpone the arraignment.
“This individual has no criminal record, is 21 years old and a college student,” said Stephen Neyman, Buckley’s attorney.
The motion was denied by the judge.
Buckley had nothing to say to cameras outside.
Suffolk county District attorney Rachel Rollins did.
“We believe that this individual engaged in a act of unprovoked workplace violence. If anyone showed up at your job and threw a bottle at your head hopefully you would call the police and we would prosecute that person, that’s what happened here,” said Rollins.
Boston 25 legal analyst Peter Elikann weighed in on the case, the latest in a series of NBA and fan altercations.
“This case has such higher implications because there has been such a huge number just in the week alone of fans physically attacking players across the country – one dumped popcorn on a player, another spit on a player,” said Boston 25 Legal Analyst Peter Elikann.
Buckley has been ordered by a judge to stay away from the TD Garden.
His also facing the possibility of a lifetime ban from the Garden.
Buckley is due back in court in August.
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