The NBL dished out six $500 fines on Thursday resulting from an ugly weekend of on-court action, but Melbourne import Seth Scott escaped suspension despite admitting to striking Sydney Kings' star Ben Madgen in the head.
Scott and Madgen both copped fines, for their roles in the on-court scuffle which marred the Kings' 72-67 win at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Sydney's Ian Crosswhite and Melbourne's Lucas Walker were both hit with $500 fines for unnecessarily joining the same fight, while Perth's Brad Robbins was also fined for joining a fight as the Wildcats went down 69-65 to Adelaide.
The fines did not stop there, with Melbourne's Wayne Peterson receiving a suspended $500 fine for breaching the NBL's rules during the incident regarding acceptable behaviour from a court announcer.
Kings' coach Shane Heal, famous for his aggressive nature as a player, was formally warned by the league for clearing the bench during the fight, while star guard Aaron Bruce was warned for 'flopping'.
The actions of all involved were condemned by Basketball Australia's general manager of professional leagues Chuck Harmison.
"The NBL has a strong reputation as a family-friendly sport, and the type of incidents that occurred on the weekend has the potential to damage that reputation," he said.
"We simply cannot allow the hot-headed actions of a few individuals to do that.
"We won't tolerate players flopping in games, nor will we accept players being the 'second-man in' once an altercation has started.
"We will also hold our coaches and officials accountable under the rules of the game."
Scott escaped with a suspended $500 fine and a one-game penalty that will only come into effect if he is found guilty of any additional charges before March 24.
NBL tribunal chair Elizabeth Woods said she took into account Scott's ejection from the game over the striking incident when deciding on his penalty.
"The tribunal views the incident very seriously and it's not the type of behaviour which the NBL will tolerate," Woods said in her finding.
"The NBL has distributed points of emphasis to clubs and, like all sports, seeks to protect players in the league."
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, sydney-2000, nsw, australia First posted November 22, 2012 13:24:26
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