SAN ANTONIO – Honking horns after a big Spurs win is among San Antonio’s many basketball traditions.
Cynthia Happy Buttles, a longtime fan herself, said she embraces using your vehicle to show pride in your team. However, she’s struggling to understand why someone would use that same team pride to deface someone else’s.
Buttles said she parked her Toyota Highlander in a Southtown parking lot for a few hours while she worked nearby on April 24. The Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in game three of the first round that evening.
When she returned, a San Antonio Police Department officer told her that her vehicle had been vandalized.
“I don’t know if it was paint or what, but it was a lot of damage,” she said, talking about the yellow liquid that dripped down the side of her white SUV, staining it.
Buttles said someone also punctured her back tire, bashed in the back of her vehicle and used a sharp tool to scratch the side.
“From the passengers’ side rear end all the way up to the front of the car, they cut it,” she said.
The damage will cost her roughly $10,000.
Her vehicle was not the only one vandalized, SAPD said, most likely a result of fans celebrating the Spurs’ win.
“I’m right alongside everybody else when it comes to celebrating, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to celebrate,” she said. “It wasn’t a celebration. It was just vandalism.”
KSAT has been following through on unsafe celebrations after Spurs wins since the playoff run began.
Earlier this week, a brawl was caught on camera along SW Military Drive as Spurs fans drove by honking their horns.
SAPD said there were no arrests made in connection with the fight.
However, the department recently warned people not to cross certain lines when it comes to celebrating, in a video posted to its social media accounts.
SAPD echoed the sentiment in a statement to KSAT after we reached out to law enforcement for comment on this story. The department encouraged all fans to:
- Follow all laws, including wearing seatbelts
- Refrain from firing a gun, lighting fireworks or starting fires
Buttles said her Spurs spirit is stronger than ever, but hopes people will not break the law during celebrations moving forward.
“It’s a lesson that everyone should understand and look at,” Buttles said. “It’s wrong.”
Read more of our honking coverage: