“Dr. Heckle” might have messed with the wrong superstar.
Richard Anderson, a Salt Lake City plastic surgeon who has been a Utah Jazz season ticketholder for going on three decades, is claiming a conspiracy after he was abruptly told last week to cease his longtime use of props to heckle opposing players. His crime, he suspects: Distracting LeBron James at the free throw line.
Anderson watched Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls at Energy Solutions Arena with a piece of blue tape over his mouth to protest to gag order he was given by the Jazz, he told ABC-4 News. The fan affectionately known as “Dr. Heckle” for his use of rubber chickens and other joke props claims he was told to cease using the props after he twirled an umbrella while James shot free throws earlier this month.
“I think the commissioner and the NBA central office have taken control of who they want to win and who makes them the most money,” Anderson told ABC-4’s Rick Aaron. “What really upset ’em was when I was twirling my umbrella when LeBron James was shooting free throws. If it was one of our guys in a different arena, probably, they wouldn’t have cared so much about it.”
The Jazz’s stated reason was that Anderson’s use of props violated the team’s code of conduct, but the only rules on the team’s website that even vaguely refer to props stipulate that signs cannot be “obscene or indecent” and that fans may not throw objects onto the court.
Thumbnail photo via Russell Isabella/USA TODAY Sports Images