06 September 2013

Players Involved in Melee Received a 'Slap in the Thumb'

PBA Fracas
This morning, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Chito Salud announced that Kelly Nabong, Marc Pingris and Joe Devance will be slapped with suspensions, while Marvin Hayes will be meted a fine for Wednesday's (4 September 2013) night on-court melee in the 2013 PBA Governors Cup.

Any discussions and questions should have ended there, but apparently it has not.

All concerned players met with the Commissioner on 5 September 2013 in his office in Libis, Quezon City to air their side and hear what Salud thinks of their actions.

Minutes after the suspensions and fines were announced, netizens and online forums started buzzing at how light the penalties were and that these are just a slap on the thumb (not even the wrist) for those involved. They cited the fact that the amount of fine is worth less than a quarter of the total monthly pay of Pingris and Devance.

Nabong and Pingris, who exchanged blows early in the third quarter of San Mig Coffee's 102-88 win over GlobalPort at Cuneta Astrodome, were both suspended for two games and only fined PhP 60,000 each.

Joe Devance, who decked Hayes in a move which sparked the brawl, meanwhile, was meted a one-game ban and a measly PhP 30,000 fine "for triggering the commotion that led to the fight."

Devance and Pingris, who are vital cogs for the San Mig Coffee and believes to receive near a maximum pay of about PhP 400,000 a month, will miss their teams match against Barangay Ginebra, Rookie Nabong, meanwhile, will not be in attendance in the Batang Pier’s meeting with Barako Bull on 8 September 2013.

Hayes, who got tangled up with import Marcus Blakely, won't be sitting out any games for GlobalPort, but was sanctioned with a PhP 20,000 fine for his "unsportsmanlike conduct, equivalent to a flagrant foul penalty two."

Even if Salud stressed that "fighting is not condoned in the PBA and that there is absolutely no justification for our players to get involved in fistfights," many believe that the fines are too small to be taken seriously. Devance, for instance, already had a history of bad behavior when his team played against Alaska Aces and Talk N' Text, but was just slap in the wrist for instigating it all.

Do you think the length of suspension and amount of fine is enough to deter future fights? I don't think so.

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