Ruling on player fan interaction.

[frezer11]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

The referee is also within his/her authority to assess a team technical foul for unsporting behavior on the spectator. If this occurs, the technical fouls are offsetting since they occur at the same time. The penalties are the same with the exception of bench personnel being ejected. If both technical fouls are assessed, each team begins the second half with one foul toward the team-foul count and play begins at the point of interruption, which is an alternating-possession throw-in to begin the third quarter. (10-1-8; 10-4-1g)

If the scenario in the OP ever happened during one of my games (knock on wood...) I think I would have to exercise this option. If it's a fan in the stands heckling, probably not, the player needs to get over it. But a fan who physically initiates an altercation is a little bit different scenario.

I don't want to be the guy on the forum who is always suggesting a forfeit, I know I brought that up in a recent thread, but I think it's a legitimate discussion for the sake of player safety here, or more likely suspending the game until another time. We all remember the "Malice at the Palace," and that game's final seconds were called off after the incident, and I think rightly so. Of course that was a 15 point game with only 45 seconds left, so a little bit different, but I'd have to be pretty certain that player safety was not an issue to continue this game at this time.