On March 26, 1991, during a game versus the New Jersey Nets, Barkley attempted to spit on a fan that had been allegedly heckling with racial slurs but the result was his saliva hitting a young girl. Rod Thorn, the NBA's president of operations at the time, suspended Barkley, without pay, for one game and fined him $10,000 for spitting and verbally abusing the fan. It became a national story and Barkley was vilified for it. Barkley, however, eventually developed a friendship with the girl and her family. He apologized and, among other things, provided them tickets to future games.