Jimmy Buffett SUZANNE CORDEIRO FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Remembering when Jimmy Buffett was kicked out of a Miami Heat game

By Sean Keane | Last updated 9/2/23

The late Jimmy Buffett wasn’t just a legendary singer. He was a die-hard basketball fan who once got himself — and almost his friend Pat Riley — kicked out of a Heat-Knicks game.

Buffett, who died Friday, was a wildly successful singer and entrepreneur, despite only one true hit song, "Margaritaville." He was also a fixture at Miami Heat home games, sitting courtside and, one on occasion, getting very passionate about the officiating.

On Feb. 4, 2001, the Heat and the New York Knicks were tied 91-91 with just a few minutes remaining when, during a timeout, referee Joe Forte ejected Buffett for cursing.

In a contrast to Buffett's musical output, which Variety called "boozy, punny, often marijuana-scented variety of tropical good-time music," Buffett's behavior at the game showed the flip side of too many margaritas. The Heat's coach at the time, Riley, was a good friend of Buffett's, even performing together at Shane Battier's charity karaoke event.

That night in Miami, Riley couldn't help Buffett. In fact, he almost got himself ejected advocating for his pal, whom Forte didn't recognize, nor was he familiar with Buffett's legions of fans, who call themselves "Parrotheads."

"I told Joe Forte, I said, 'Do you know who that is?"' Riley told reporters after the game. "I said, 'Do you mean to tell me you've never been a Parrothead in your life?' So that tells you where our officials are coming from."

"He thought I was insulting him. He wanted to give me a technical for calling him a Parrothead."

The Heat went on to lose the game, and Buffett never got out of line again, returning often to sing the national anthem as well as supporting the Heat from courtside seats. Is it a coincidence that Miami has reached the NBA Finals twice in four years behind another music-loving Jimmy B?

While Jimmy Butler prefers Nickelback, Riley and the Heat embraced Buffett, even if the strict fitness-and-diet culture in Miami makes it anything but a paradise for cheeseburgers. He'll be missed, though his spirit will be out there, cruising in a yacht past Miami Beach, and berating the officials from heaven.

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