Former Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks’ player, Renaldo Balkman, is no longer wanted in the Philippine Basketball Association after his choking incident last week.
After reacting after a no-call – he pushed an official, an assistant coach, and then shoving and choking a Perton Blaze teammate who was trying to calm down Balkman - PBA commissioner, Chito Salud, handed down a fine of 250,000 Philippine Pesos and a lifetime ban from the league for Balkman.
In arriving at this decision, I took into consideration Balkman’s track record as a player, including the head-butting incident during a FIBA-Americas game between Puerto Rico and Venezuela and his altercation with the bench of the Alaska Aces during a pre-Season game in Cebu City. I also took into consideration Balkman’s evident disregard for local and the host country’s sensibilities highlighted by his choking act on-court in full public view of his own teammate who was trying to pacify him. Stiff as it maybe, this decision upholds the tenets of contextual accountability and the over-all interest of the League and the fans.
Balkman only played a handful of games in the PBA, and he did apologize, but this is something that should have never occurred.
Guess it’s back to the unemployment office for Balkman.
