The NBA will not permit Golden State Warriors investor Mark Stevens to attend any games after the team executive shoved Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry during Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena, the league announced Thursday.

"A team representative must be held to the highest possible standard, and the conduct of Golden State Warriors investor Mark Stevens last night was beyond unacceptable and has no place in our league," the league said in a statement. "As the review of this matter continues, Mr. Stevens will not be permitted to attend NBA games."

Stevens, who was seated courtside Wednesday night, was ejected early in the fourth quarter for shoving Lowry after the guard crashed into a row of seats while trying to save a ball from going out of bounds.

Prior to the NBA's decision, the Warriors issued a statement Thursday condemning Stevens' actions and said he would not be in attendance for the rest of the NBA Finals. The team later clarified that Stevens would be indefinitely suspended from all team-related activities.

"Mr. Stevens' behavior last night did not reflect the high standards that we hope to exemplify as an organization," the Warriors said in the statement. "We're extremely disappointed in his actions and, along with Mr. Stevens, offer our sincere apology to Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors organization for this unfortunate misconduct. There is no place for such interaction between fans -- or anyone -- and players at an NBA game."

Stevens, who is listed as a member of the Warriors' executive board in the team's media guide, will not attend any of the remaining NBA Finals games. The Warriors and the NBA said a review of the incident is ongoing, and Stevens could face sanctions from both because he is a team executive.

Toronto leads the best-of-seven series 2-1 after the Raptors' 123-109 victory on Wednesday. The Warriors host Game 4 on Friday (9 p.m. ET, ABC).

The incident, which happened not far from where Warriors owner Joe Lacob was sitting, occurred when Lowry, who was chasing a loose ball, knocked the ball into a referee and landed in the lap of one male fan, who appeared to grab Lowry's jersey with two hands. A woman who was standing nearby patted Lowry on his back. At the same time, Stevens, who was sitting down, extended his left arm and gave Lowry a hard shove to his left shoulder.

Lowry got up and complained to officials, who ejected Stevens from the game. Lowry told The Associated Press that Stevens repeatedly cursed at him, and Lowry said he had spoken to the NBA about the incident before exiting Oracle Arena.

"There's no place for that,'' Lowry told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt after the game. "He had no reason to touch me. He had no reason to reach over two seats and then say some vulgar language to me. There's no place for people like that in our league. Hopefully, he never comes back to an NBA game."

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who watched the game on television, said Thursday on Instagram that he "couldn't and wouldn't be quiet about this" and that Stevens "knew the rules more than just the average person sitting watching the game courtside."

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?There's absolutely no place in our BEAUTIFUL game for that AT ALL. There's so many issues here. When you sit courtside you absolutely know what comes with being on the floor and if you don't know it's on the back on the ticket itself that states the guidelines. But he himself being a fan but more importantly PART-OWNER of the Warriors knew exactly what he was doing which was so uncalled for. He knew the rules more than just the average person sitting watching the game courtside so for that Something needs to be done ASAP! A swift action for his actions. Just think to yourself, what if @kyle_lowry7 would have reacted and put his hands back on him. You guys would be going CRAZY!! Calling for him to damn near be put in jail let alone being suspended for the rest of the Finals all because he was protected himself. I've been quite throughout the whole NBA playoffs watching every game (haven't missed one) but after I saw what I saw last night, took time to let it manifest into my thinking ? I couldn't and wouldn't be quiet on this! #ProtectThePlayers #PrivilegeAintWelcomeHere

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Jun 6, 2019 at 9:42am PDT

The NBPA issued a statement Thursday saying they are monitoring investigations by both the league and the Warriors and "anxiously await" a resolution.

"The NBPA has previously expressed its support of a 'zero-tolerance policy' with respect to verbal and/or physical assaults perpetrated against players," executive director Michele Roberts said in the statement. "Stevens' status as a member of the ownership group does not alter that view."

Stevens was a partner with Lacob as a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital, which helped finance companies such as Google and PayPal. It's unclear how large his ownership stake in the Warriors is.

After the game, before Stevens was identified as the man who pushed him, Lowry said he should be banned "forever" from NBA games.

"The fans have a place; we love our fans," Lowry said. "But fans like that shouldn't be allowed to be in there, because it's not right. I can't do nothing to protect myself. But the league does a good job, and hopefully they ban him from all NBA games forever."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The early-arriving fans at Oracle Arena crowd the railing above the tunnel, waiting for it. Media members, staffers and VIPs line the walls at floor level, simultaneously doing their jobs and playing the role of interested onlooker. Everyone cranes their smartphone cameras, contorting above and around the masses, hoping to get the best angle before security guard Norm Davis bellows out the three words that will drive them into a frenzy.

"Warrior coming out."

Deep inside the tunnel, outside of the view of the fans, Stephen Curry says the words softly to himself. It's the cue for him to take the floor for the NBA's most-viewed warm-up routine. Curry has been greeted the same way for each home game during one of the most successful runs in NBA history.

Now, no matter where Curry finds himself on the NBA circuit, he repeats the mantra to himself as he makes his way to the floor.

Davis' voice and cadence have become as recognizable to Golden State Warriors players and coaches inside Oracle as Curry's shooting routine. When a Warriors player walks out of the locker room and down the tunnel onto the floor, Davis, who spent three of his years in the military serving as a drill sergeant, hollers out his familiar call -- "Warrior coming out!" as the player jogs out to the court.

"That's Norm," Curry said.

"I try to beat him to it now," Warriors center Andrew Bogut said. "I try to say it before he says it."

The call is as pragmatic as it is familiar. Davis is simply trying to clear a path in the tunnel so no one -- be it a Warriors player or an attendee lingering in the wrong spot -- gets hurt.

But the reason that call has become so synonymous inside Oracle is because Curry grew to like it so much.

"I started it [in 2014-15]," Davis said. "[Before then], we would say, 'Hold them up!' It was me, David Lee and Steph. I would yell it out, and then they would repeat what I said, and then they would just blast through the tunnel. And then they won the first championship, and then I started saying, 'Warriors coming out.' Steph picked it up, and Steph would yell it out, jump in the air, and then take off again."

Said Curry: "That's the most consistent thing that happens at Oracle."

That's why Curry has implemented it into his own routine wherever he goes. No matter what building the Warriors find themselves in on the road, Curry repeats Davis' line to himself as he makes his way onto the floor, jumps up in the air, and then dashes out to entertain the masses.

Curry's warm-up routine has grown from something only a handful of staffers at Oracle witnessed to something that, at times, has drawn its own dedicated television coverage. As the crowds have grown, Curry has grown to appreciate Davis' consistency.

A creature of habit in his own right, Curry decided to implement Davis' words when he noticed Davis wasn't at Oracle for a small stretch during the 2014-15 season because of an illness.

"Anytime a Warrior's coming down that hallway, he yells it, and he's a drill sergeant, so his voice carries," Curry said. "I think he got sick one time, he wasn't at a couple games, so I started yelling it, and carried that over to honor him on the road. But it's just something I do now."

When told that Curry has maintained the tradition on the road this season, a big smile crosses Davis' face.

"Is that right?" he says with a laugh. "That's good! He says it energizes him. So, yeah, I just keep it going. It was cool. ... It elevates him.

"I'm glad to see him do that because I remember when he came in as a rookie; we got here at the same time," he continues. "So to see him come in as a rookie all energetic, and now to see him slow walk his way into the locker room, it's all different, but it's good."

Davis has had a front-row seat, literally, to Curry's evolution from rail-thin rookie on a moribund franchise to the two-time MVP for an NBA dynasty. Just like so many others inside the organization, Davis beams about the transformation Curry has made during his decade in the Bay Area.

"The guy's been working hard since he's been here," Davis said. "He's just a joy. He's born and raised in North Carolina. I'm born and raised in South Carolina so I kind of like to take him on as a little brother. To see the guys do well -- it's all good."

Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser, who has become another integral part of Curry's daily shooting routine over the Warriors' run of dominance, says that Davis' call is one of several things Curry has picked up over the years at Oracle.

"He's got other sayings where he'll just imitate people," Fraser said of Curry. "That's one of them where he's like dead-on the voice at times. That's part of Steph's brilliance, is that humor he has to take stuff that some may think is serious or routine, and he'll spin it into -- not making fun of the person, but into humor where he uses it on the road. Steph's funny. He's actually a very funny guy."

Bogut arrived in Oakland after that transformation was well underway, joining the Warriors as part of an offseason trade before the 2012-13 season. His arrival coincided with the Warriors' rise in the Western Conference, and he was a key piece for both the 2015 title team and the team that won 73 games in 2015-16. However, he was traded away that summer and played most of this season in Australia before returning to the NBA and rejoining the Warriors late in the season.

Having been away from Oakland for a few years, Bogut was happy to see Davis in his familiar position upon his return.

"There are people that have been around when this place was a basket case," Bogut said. "A 30-win season was a celebration 10 years ago. So they deserve everything they get, they've been a part of. They're all good people that work very, very hard. ... It was just cool to see the same people there every year."

Fraser says he knows that it means something to Curry to be able to take little pieces about his Oracle experience on the road with him wherever he goes.

"He loves it," Fraser said. "There's a lot of things about the arena, the people here. Our whole existence, and his in particular in Oakland, are special. So he'll pull those out, sometimes in a serious place, but more often he uses it as humor. But it keeps him grounded."

The question remains, though, as to whether that will continue when the Warriors move across the Bay and open the Chase Center in San Francisco next season. After almost a decade and a half inside Oracle, Davis, like many of his colleagues, says he isn't sure what the future holds for his position in the new building, as the Warriors prepare to play what could be the final game at Oracle on Friday night (9 p.m. ET on ABC/WatchESPN).

"It'd be nice," Davis said of maintaining the same role. "They're telling us it's going to be a job fair, so it's like, whatever they give you once you get over there. I'll just take whatever they give me -- if I go. I don't know if I'm going to go or not."

One of the reasons Curry and his teammates have been so outspoken about wanting to win one more championship in Oakland is because they know that there are many fans and workers, like Davis, who might not be able to keep enjoying the ride once they move across the Bay Bridge. It's why Curry is trying to enjoy the last moments -- and calls -- inside Oracle as the games come to a close.

"We're kind of bridging the gap between the history of the organization, the rawness of Oakland and how die-hard our fans are," Curry said. "So I'll miss everything, to be honest."

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge resumed on-field batting practice Thursday and said he is not focusing on a timeframe for returning to the lineup.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday it is possible Judge could return in time for New York's games against Boston in London on June 29 and 30, the first major league regular-season games in Europe.

"I'm taking it day to day," Judge said. "The minute I start thinking about when I'm going to come back, when I'm going to do that, then my hopes might either go up or down if I get pushed back or some thing like that. So I'm just focused on getting better every day."

Judge strained his left oblique muscle on April 20. He is now pain free and working out at the team's minor league complex.

"Now it's just going through the protocols so I can finally get out there," Judge said. "They haven't been needing me the past couple weeks, so I'm going to take my time and make sure I get healthy and get ready so I can help them down the road."

Even with a large injured list that also includes ace Luis Severino and slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees entered Thursday leading the AL East by 1+ games over second-place Tampa Bay.

Judge, who has been hitting in an indoor cage, also continued increasing his defensive work in right field

"It's good to finally get outside and get some fresh air when I'm hitting now," Judge said.

NEW YORK -- Robinson Cano is out of the New York Mets' lineup against San Francisco, a day after tweaking his left quadriceps.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Cano was being evaluated and the team hoped he would be available off the bench Thursday afternoon to face the Giants.

The 36-year-old Cano came off the injured list Wednesday. He'd been out since May 22 because of a strained left quadriceps.

Cano exited after four innings, limping off the field with tightness in his quad.

Cano is hitting .238 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in his first season with the Mets.

TORONTO -- Inside the New York Yankees' home clubhouse, along a wall near the main entrance, are a pair of neighboring lockers. One belongs to Aaron Judge, the other to Clint Frazier.

When the Yankees are on the road, the two outfielders' lockers are often placed side-by-side as well.

For Frazier, the Yankees' brash and flashy 24-year-old up-and-comer who has drawn his share of headlines and public ire this week, the locker placement affords him the opportunity to routinely pick the brain of the 27-year-old megastar who is viewed as much more of a veteran than his major league service time would indicate.

"Dude, everyone in here is talking to him about something," Frazier said. "I don't know what the convos are, but why wouldn't you listen to him?"

Listening -- that's exactly what Frazier had been doing in recent weeks when he'd talked to Judge. The conversations mostly revolved around defensive technique and boosting Frazier's shaken outfield confidence.

"I just try to tell him, even the balls that he's been clanking in the outfield, your first initial read of either going back or coming in, it's always right. It's always right," Judge said. "I try to tell him, 'You should trust it.' The minute you trust your instincts ... then that's when you can kind of read it a little better.

"'You're an athlete, you've been doing it your whole life. Trust what you see.'"

It's his routine offering of honest yet uplifting advice that has made Judge one of the most respected players in the Yankees' clubhouse, along with veterans CC Sabathia and Brett Gardner, the two longest-tenured players on the team.

His advice has been dispensed often in the past six weeks, and not all of it to Frazier. At times this season he's listened to other teammates lamenting struggles they've had in particular games.

"I try telling them, 'Bad couple games? You're still hitting .270 with 15 homers. You've got nothing to be worried about. If you have one bad game here, learn from it and keep it moving. You're a big part of this team,'" Judge said. "So just trying to keep it positive, trying to do those kind of things."

Despite suffering a left oblique strain on a swing April 20, Judge had still spent nearly all of his time with the team while resting and rehabbing the injury -- until he left this past Sunday to continue his comeback in Florida.

The Yankees believe his presence has been necessary, important and incalculable.

"He's like a coach," first baseman Luke Voit said of Judge.

Manager Aaron Boone considers the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year a "huge presence" in the Yankees' clubhouse.

"As upset as he was when he first got injured, one of the first conversations I had with him is: 'You can still impact us in a big way,'" Boone said. "I absolutely feel like he has."

"Aaron's been really good to me. Behind the scenes, whether it's hitting, basepaths, defense, he's always chiming in on something for someone because he's that respected and that good."

Clint Frazier

Asked recently what impact he has had on the way the Yankees have stayed afloat despite sending 18 players to the injured list this season, Judge shook his head.

"That's all on those guys," he said, pointing around the clubhouse. "They're putting in all the work. I can say it might help, but they're the ones standing in the box, they're the ones out there performing. I'm just trying to keep them at that level. They're the ones doing all the work."

From the day he was hurt until Sunday, when he and fellow injured Yankees Dellin Betances and Greg Bird traveled to Tampa, Florida, to ramp up their respective rehabs, Judge had been with the Yankees for every game.

When they were at home, he was there. When they were in Kansas City, he was there. Baltimore? He was there. Tampa, Anaheim, San Francisco and Arizona? There too.

Judge caught all the usual pregame meetings he'd normally be part of, and he stood in the outfield and helped shag fly balls during batting practice once he was cleared to do that. He also got in the batter's box and tracked pitches during between-start bullpen sessions, and he offered to do pregame defensive work with Frazier as the young outfielder's struggles started becoming more magnified.

None of that went unnoticed.

"Aaron's been really good to me," Frazier said. "Behind the scenes, whether it's hitting, basepaths, defense, he's always chiming in on something for someone because he's that respected and that good."

Although the advice has helped, it goes deeper than that for Voit.

"Half the [injured] guys don't travel like he does, so it shows that he cares and wants to be around the team and helping every way that he can without being out there," Voit said.

The most tangible ways Voit believes Judge has helped impact his 15-homer season have come behind closed doors.

"It's nice to have him in the hitter's meetings, because he's been in the league for two and a half, three years now. So it's nice to have his background," Voit said. "He's very intelligent about when it comes to how pitchers attack. And it's nice for me too, because we kind of get pitched the same way."

Since Judge's injury, Voit has been among the regulars hitting in the right fielder's customary No. 2 spot. With combinations of the dangerous Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Frazier hitting behind him, Voit has had his share of pitchers throwing him hard inside of late. Once they've established that inside corner and gotten into favorable counts, they're gone soft away with Voit more regularly than they did when Judge was in the lineup and hitting ahead of him. It's a pitch-sequence formula Judge regularly sees.

"So it's nice to have him, and I can always lean on him. And just the way he's in the dugout, it's the same excitement as if he was playing, too," Voit said.

With Judge now away from the team continuing a swinging program that should soon have him facing live pitching, and inching closer to a return to the lineup -- which Boone said Wednesday could happen when the Yankees play the Red Sox in London later this month -- a void has appeared.

An argument could be made that no one is feeling Judge's absence more than Frazier.

Around the same time Sabathia threw the first pitch in Sunday's game at Yankee Stadium, Judge, Bird and Betances were taking off from the Big Apple for Florida. So when Frazier missed a ball later that night that got to the wall and allowed a run to score, and when he misjudged a pair of fly balls that fell, he didn't have his extra coach to give him the nudge of encouragement he says he needed. And Judge wasn't there after the loss, when Frazier declined to speak to reporters. Although he did speak exclusively to ESPN a couple of hours later, his decision not to address the collective media sparked days of discussion and criticism on social platforms, sports talk radio and local newspapers.

Judge also wasn't there in Toronto on Tuesday when Frazier decided to riff with writers on what he felt was past unfair coverage of him, and the difficulty he has had fitting in. There were other Yankees present in Toronto that day, though, who were somewhat dismayed he didn't take their advice prior to that eight-minute media scrum.

Perhaps even Judge's presence wouldn't have kept Frazier from saying much of what he did that particular afternoon. But then again, in all the time Judge has been around the team, Frazier had kept many of the thoughts he shared that day to himself.

Regardless, when he has been around, Judge has had a boundless impact on this still-hot, still-banged up team of backups, whether he's playing or not.

"Really important," Boone said. "He's been a huge part of this, and a huge presence in all of it for the guys in that room."

Long a proponent of team energy and chemistry, Boone believes the tone of any clubhouse can turn a good team into a great one. He's hopeful the tone set by Judge can do that too.

"Some of the best teams I've played on, there's something about the room from an energy standpoint that can be a factor in helping you win some games along the way," Boone said. "How do you quantify it? I don't necessarily know, but I do believe that it matters. And it can look a lot of different ways.

"Sometimes it's guys that get along and everything's great, sometimes there's some angst behind it. That can be a great culture too, where guys get after each other a little bit. It can look a lot of different ways in my opinion, but I do think when you do have a strong culture, I do think it shows itself in some wins over the course of the year. How many? Maybe we'll never know, but I think it matters."

Gloucester have signed Scotland international centre Chris Harris from Newcastle Falcons on an undisclosed deal after activating a release clause.

Harris leaves the Falcons on the back of relegation from the Premiership this past season, having made 77 league appearances and scored 11 tries.

The 28-year-old received international recognition at Kingston Park, and scored one try in eight Test matches.

"I've loved every minute of my time with the Falcons," Harris said.

"I will be forever grateful to them. However, I'm at the stage of my career where I need to be performing at the highest level of the club game."

The Cherry and Whites finished in the top four last season, securing European Champions Cup rugby at Kingsholm next season.

Director of rugby David Humphreys added: "We're delighted that Chris has agreed to join Gloucester Rugby and to add another international calibre player to the squad, one who also possesses significant Premiership experience."

Australian rugby international Israel Folau is seeking "substantial remedies" after being sacked for a social media post saying "hell awaits" gay people.

The 30-year-old devout Christian had his contract terminated by Rugby Australia and has now launched legal action against RA.

Folau is claiming his employment was unlawfully terminated.

"No Australian of any faith should be fired for practising their religion," Folau said.

A case has been filed with Australia's Fair Workplace Commission, an industrial relations tribunal.

"Ours is an amazing country built on important principles, including freedom of religion. A nation made up of so many different faiths and cultural backgrounds will never be truly rich unless this freedom applies to all of us," Folau, who played club rugby for New South Wales Waratahs, added.

"The messages of support we have received over these difficult few weeks have made me realise there are many Australians who feel their fundamental rights are being steadily eroded."

The application says: "Accordingly, Mr Folau is seeking substantial remedies from his former employers should they be found to have breached the Fair Work Act in terminating his employment."

The full-back, who has played 73 Tests for Australia and was expected to represent his national side at this year's Rugby World Cup, had a contract until 2022.

As well as the termination of his contract, he lost sponsorship deals with companies including car manufacturer Land Rover and sportswear brand Asics.

He could be seeking up to AUS$10m (£5.5m) in damages, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Rugby Australia and New South Wales Rugby later issued a joint statement which stressed Folau had been sacked "because of a serious breach of the Professional Players Code of Conduct".

"This is an issue of an employee and his obligations to his employers within the contract that he signed," the statement added.

"He was bound by a Code of Conduct for all professional players in Australia that spells out clear guidelines and obligations regarding player behaviour, including respectful use of social media."

Brother released for personal reasons

Folau's younger brother John was also under contract with the Waratahs and the 24-year-old back, who was yet to make his Super Rugby debut after being signed before the 2019 season, has been granted an immediate release for personal reasons.

"We gave John some time off for leave and he has come back to us recently and asked for a release, which we're happy to grant," said Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson.

"John has been in a difficult position for the last wee while. He has got really divided loyalties to his family and his brother and then also to the team. He wanted to stress how much he enjoyed being with the team and what a difficult decision it was for him."