Charlotte Hornets' Miles Bridges Apologizes After Hitting Girl with a Mouthguard During Ejection

The NBA player said he takes "full responsibility" for his post-ejection outburst in Atlanta

Miles Bridges. Photo: Nic Antaya/Getty

The Charlotte Hornets' Miles Bridges has apologized to the young fan who was accidentally struck by his mouthguard on Wednesday after the forward threw it into the crowd while leaving the court.

Bridges, 24, was ejected in the fourth quarter of a single-elimination game against the Atlanta Hawks after being handed a second technical foul.

While Hawks fans cheered Bridges' ejection — which also marked the end of his NBA season — the power forward removed his mouthguard and tossed it at a screaming game attendee, but his aim was off. Video shows the mouthguard instead flying into the face of a young girl.

Bridges addressed the incident on social media almost immediately following the final buzzer. He tweeted, "Somebody get me in contact with that little girl. That's unacceptable."

According to ESPN, Bridges also told reporters, "That's definitely unacceptable on my part, and I take full responsibility. I'm ready for any consequence that the NBA gives me."

The NBA player told The Charlotte Observer that he was aiming for a specific fan and that the girl he hit was not his intended target. "I was aiming for the guy that was screaming at me and it hit a little girl," he said postgame.

According to the Observer, the fan in question is 16 and did not want her name released publicly.

The disappointing loss resulted in Charlotte's elimination from the NBA playoffs. Hornets star LaMelo Ball had 26 points while Bridges scored only 12 in the defeat to Atlanta.