No, for real. This happened. Late in the third quarter after being called for a foul, Paul George kicked in the ball in frustration and it hit a young woman in the face in the stands.

George immediately went over to the young woman, apologized and gave her a hug, but the damage was done as George was ejected from the game. It looked as though George was likely trying to kick the ball against the stanchion, not into the crowd.

“My soccer skills are not as good as I thought,” joked George after the game, who said he apologized and was trying to kick the ball on the mat of the stanchion.

Fortunately, the outcome of the game was not in jeopardy as the Pacers are ahead by over 20 late in the fourth quarter at the time of this post.

Here’s video of the play.

Here’s the apology.

Update: The person hit by the ball was actually a Pacers employee, Lindsey Yeager, working with the television crew for Fox Sports Indiana according to Nate Taylor of the Indy Star.

Update: Paul George also sent the woman flowers to apologize. A classy gesture.