A viral prankster known for his Klay Thompson impersonation claims he received the ban after he snuck onto the court before the start of Game 5 of the NBA Finals
An NBA fan received a lifetime ban from San Francisco’s Chase Center after impersonating a Golden State Warriors player during the NBA Finals, the team confirmed to PEOPLE on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon, just before the Warriors faced the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
“An individual falsely impersonated a Warriors player in a deliberate attempt to access unauthorized areas within Chase Center,” the team told PEOPLE.
“These actions have resulted in a lifetime ban from both Chase Center and Kaiser Permanente Arena,” they added.
In a series of tweets on Monday, YouTuber Dawson Gurley claimed he received the ban after bypassing security before the game and gaining possession of a ball to participate in shoot-a-round.
The prankster, who has been impersonating Warriors star Klay Thompson since 2017, maintains security allowed him onto the court because of his likeness to the 32-year-old former NBA champion.
At game 5 and @warriors just banned me for life from their arena.
— Daws (@BigDawsTv) June 13, 2022
“Banned bc I walked [past] 5 layers of security guards (who willingly let me through security without asking for ID) & shot around on the court for 10 minutes,” he explained in a tweet.
Added Gurley: “Technically, I did not trespass. I talked to security, went through metal detectors and walked right into the building. They welcomed me with open arms.”
Additionally, Gurley posted a photo of the alleged letter he received from the organization that explained his lifetime ban.
“Your actions can also be deemed to be an act of criminal trespass, and we reserve the right to pursue any criminal charges through The City of San Francisco Police Department and the City Attorney of San Francisco office,” the letter said.
The representative for the Warriors told PEOPLE they would “not comment on legal or security matters.”
Videos of Gurley impersonating Thompson have received millions of views on his YouTube channel. His first video as Thompson’s look-a-like, titled “Pretending To Be Klay Thompson,” has over 24 million views.
The real Klay Thompson will travel with the Warriors to Boston for Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
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