Andrew Bynum Fined, Suspended 5 Games - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

buddha08 · 05-10-2011, 09:46 PM

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Lakers center Andrew Bynum has been suspended for the first five games of next season for his flagrant foul on Dallas guard J.J. Barea in Los Angeles' final playoff game.

The NBA announced the suspension Tuesday, two days after Bynum was ejected for the foul in the two-time defending champions' 36-point loss to the Mavericks in Game 4.

The NBA also fined Bynum $25,000 for "removing his jersey and the manner in which he left the court."

The infraction will cost him $702,272 overall, including the fine.

Bynum expressed remorse for his actions Tuesday, saying his actions were terrible and unacceptable.

"My actions ... don't represent me, my upbringing, this franchise or any of the Laker fans out there that want to watch us and want us to succeed," Bynum said. "Furthermore, and more importantly, I want to actually apologize to J.J. Barea for doing that. I'm just glad that he wasn't seriously injured in the event and all I can say is, I've looked at [the replay], it's terrible and it definitely won't be happening again."

Mavericks Rockets Fan · 05-10-2011, 09:59 PM

The NBA doesn't want to suspend him for too long. That might discourage Orlando from accepting the Howard for Bynum trade. No surprise here.

Scoobay · 05-10-2011, 10:01 PM

a bit lighter than what i would have hoped for given how unrepentant he was immediately after. i hope his apology and 'change' of heart is sincere before someone really gets hurt. the main issue is that it's the 3rd similar incident. 5 games is about what i would have expected, but was hoping that he'd get something much more strong like 15.

Ninkobei · 05-11-2011, 08:09 AM

swear to god, if LA gets Dwight Howard I may keel over. He's the best big man in the league by a country mile. Bynum, as good as he is, isnt even in the same stratosphere as Howard. Plus Bynum's attitude problems decrease his value even more.

also, 5 games is entirely too little. 10 games minimum is what it should have been. Bynum has a history of trying to injure players like he did. Deserves more than a slap on the wrist.

Axilla · 05-11-2011, 08:52 AM

so thats it? its finalized? nobody can appeal or review the review board?

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 09:30 AM

So light. Barea could have been seriously hurt in that play. And if he was, the suspension would have been much longer. And that's what's wrong with 5 games only. They take the outcome into consideration, when they should judge the action and intent only. Thankfully this happened in the Playoffs, with more people watching. Next one will be big. 700k when he could have cost a fellow basketball player much more than just money....

jacktruth · 05-11-2011, 10:48 AM

Wow, I can't imagine going home and telling my wife that I'm going to be short $702,000 next year, and that I got off easy.

alexamenos · 05-11-2011, 11:23 AM

Quote:

...that's what's wrong with 5 games only. They take the outcome into consideration, when they should judge the action and intent only.

Absolutely, the action very conceivably could have resulted in JJB being carried off the court and missing the rest of the playoffs....Bynum's punishment should have fit this very conceivable outcome.

5 games....way too light IMO.

JeffViggiano · 05-11-2011, 11:24 AM

JJ is too tough for Bynum.pff

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 11:30 AM

LOL, something wrong with what I wrote? It's not the best written post ever, but for being written in the train from my phone with Swype acting up, I didn't think it was bad.

Indeed they should judge the action/intent only. The fact Barea bounced back from that as quickly as he did definitely helped Bynum. If he had been severely injured, which wouldn't have been surprising considering the "play," I bet he would have gotten a bigger punishment.

It's akin to late whistles on fouls. Sometimes the refs wait to see if the shot goes in. If it goes in, they're less likely to call the foul in some situations. But here we have people not forced to make split second decisions, have all this time to ponder, and think 5 games, 700k is enough.

F*** the NBA.

alexamenos · 05-11-2011, 11:52 AM

Plus since JJB is a Mexican it probably should have been a hate crime.

dirno2000 · 05-11-2011, 12:08 PM

Seems fair to me based on precedent. Most flagrant foul suspensions are 1 or 2 games. That includes elbows to the head which could also do some pretty serious damage. This may be the longest flagrant suspension in NBA history. I’m pretty sure it’s the longest in the past 5 years or so.

I wouldn’t have had a problem with 10 games or more but 5 games and roughly $700K isn’t getting off light.

dude1394 · 05-11-2011, 12:29 PM

5 games would have been what he got this time in the regular season. I think they did NOT factor in that it could have cost the Mavs a championship at all. If they had it would have pbeen double.

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 12:53 PM

There's several aggravating factors to this, and that I agree is one of them, dude. Also, even from a "The-NBA-is-a-business" point of view, with the playoffs garnering a much higher viewership than the regular season, and thus exposing this sort of thuggery to many more viewers, tarnishing the NBA brand, the Lakers brand, it is a light. I would say 10 games would have been fair. That was the act of a coward, through and through, and should be penalized more harshly than 5 games.

Sure, 700 thousand dollars is a lot of money.... for you and me. For this guy it is 5 days of work. I don't think it's harsh, for nearly seriously injuring a fellow basketball player. I'm not even looking at it from a Mavs perspective, I'm just looking at it from a human being's well being perspective.

Mavericks Rockets Fan · 05-11-2011, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirno2000

Seems fair to me based on precedent. Most flagrant foul suspensions are 1 or 2 games. That includes elbows to the head which could also do some pretty serious damage. This may be the longest flagrant suspension in NBA history. I’m pretty sure it’s the longest in the past 5 years or so.

I wouldn’t have had a problem with 10 games or more but 5 games and roughly $700K isn’t getting off light.

Even for a repeat offender?

Underdog · 05-11-2011, 12:58 PM

If Barea had landed on his neck and been paralyzed for the rest of his life, THEN you would have seen adequate justice served.

It's a pity that they dole out punishment based on result rather than intent...

dude1394 · 05-11-2011, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underdog

If Barea had landed on his neck and been paralyzed for the rest of his life, THEN you would have seen adequate justice served.

It's a pity that they dole out punishment based on result rather than intent...

You think so, you think he would be banned for life, because that's about the only thing I can think of that would be equivalent?

dirno2000 · 05-11-2011, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mavericks Rockets Fan

Even for a repeat offender?

Well, when he did essentially the same thing to Michael Beasley he got 2 games so it does look like the repeat offender thing was taken into account. Again, if this is the longest suspension in league history for a flagrant foul it's hard to call it light.

dirno2000 · 05-11-2011, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bernardos70

Sure, 700 thousand dollars is a lot of money.... for you and me. For this guy it is 5 days of work. I don't think it's harsh, for nearly seriously injuring a fellow basketball player. I'm not even looking at it from a Mavs perspective, I'm just looking at it from a human being's well being perspective.

If I had to pay a fine at work that was about 6% of my salary I wouldn't say it was no big deal. my standard of living wouldn't fall of but I'd still rather have the money myself than give it to them.

Phil Jackson makes about $10M a year and he was bitching about being fined $35K in his last press conference. These guys don't like giving away money.

LonghornDub · 05-11-2011, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underdog

It's a pity that they dole out punishment based on result rather than intent...

Should a person receive the same punishment for shooting at a person's head and accidentally missing versus shooting a person's head, connecting, and killing him?

Boom, moral/philosophical musings.

alexamenos · 05-11-2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Again, if this is the longest suspension in league history for a flagrant foul it's hard to call it light.

The fact that the referees called a flagrant foul, an act which is the entire extent of the referee's discretionary power, does not limit the severity of the punishment that can or should be doled out by the NBA league office.

The fact that the clock happened to be ticking doesn't change the fact that Bynum wasn't playing basketball when he hit JJB.

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirno2000

If I had to pay a fine at work that was about 6% of my salary I wouldn't say it was no big deal. my standard of living wouldn't fall of but I'd still rather have the money myself than give it to them.

Phil Jackson makes about $10M a year and he was bitching about being fined $35K in his last press conference. These guys don't like giving away money.

No one does. But would you be ok with being fined 6% of your salary if you did something that could have conceivably killed your coworker in front of your customers, willingly?

dirno2000 · 05-11-2011, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexamenos

The fact that the referees called a flagrant foul, an act which is the entire extent of the referee's discretionary power, does not limit the severity of the punishment that can or should be doled out by the NBA league office.

The fact that the clock happened to be ticking doesn't change the fact that Bynum wasn't playing basketball when he hit JJB.

I agree but most flagrant 2's aren't basketball plays. In my mind that's why the league doles out suspensions for them. If Bynum was smart about it and just body bumped Barea in the air the effect is the same and he probably only gets the standard game or two. I think the severity of the penalty (relative to past penalties) reflects the fact that what he did was not a basketball play AND the fact that he's a repeat offender.

I wouldn't have had a problem with a 10 game ban but understand that would be moving the needle to the point that the new standard for a flagrant 2 would be 5 or 6 games and not 1 or 2. Maybe the Bynum foul was the worst flagrant of the modern era but it wasn't five times worse.

dirno2000 · 05-11-2011, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bernardos70

No one does. But would you be ok with being fined 6% of your salary if you did something that could have conceivably killed your coworker in front of your customers, willingly?

Sounds bad when you put it that way

. But what if I wasn't the first employee to do the exact same thing and the standard fine was 1%-2% of salary?

Mavericks Rockets Fan · 05-11-2011, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirno2000

Well, when he did essentially the same thing to Michael Beasley he got 2 games so it does look like the repeat offender thing was taken into account. Again, if this is the longest suspension in league history for a flagrant foul it's hard to call it light.

He should have been suspended more than 2 games for that Beasley flagrant.

DirkFTW · 05-11-2011, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexamenos

The fact that the clock happened to be ticking doesn't change the fact that Bynum wasn't playing basketball when he hit JJB.

When you strip out all the fun stuff, you reduce the greatest game on Earth to a stupid exercise of trying to put a ball through a hoop. Who the hell would pay money to see that?

Now THAT'S WWNBA basketball!

Murphy3 · 05-11-2011, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexamenos

Plus since JJB is a Mexican it probably should have been a hate crime.

I'm going to go ahead and say that this is one of the brilliant one liners from the playoffs so far.

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirno2000

Sounds bad when you put it that way

. But what if I wasn't the first employee to do the exact same thing and the standard fine was 1%-2% of salary?

I'd argue that the first employee's penalty was too light, not that yours was too high!

FTW, you (hopefully) forgot, or neglected (inexplicably!) this gem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edb6bz_C9ms

Sportstudi · 05-11-2011, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mavericks Rockets Fan

The NBA doesn't want to suspend him for too long. That might discourage Orlando from accepting the Howard for Bynum trade. No surprise here.

This.

A 5 game suspension is a joke. Should have been 20. But Stern wants to have his favourite team dominating the west. Watch out for that Howard trade. LA will get him for Bynum and a bag of chips like a couple of years ago with Gasol. Same sh*t, different day.

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mavericks Rockets Fan

He should have been suspended more than 2 games for that Beasley flagrant.

Exactly, especially since he was already a repeat offender for this Gerald Wallace shot, which resulted in a collapsed lung, and that even as far back as several years ago he was already throwin' dem elbows. This guy is a hospitalized NBA player waiting to happen. And I stand by the earlier 10 game minimum for a 3rd time offender. Same shot.

Sportstudi · 05-11-2011, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bernardos70

Exactly, especially since he was already a repeat offender for this Gerald Wallace shot, which resulted in a collapsed lung, and that even as far back as several years ago he was already throwin' dem elbows. This guy is a hospitalized NBA player waiting to happen. And I stand by the earlier 10 game minimum for a 3rd time offender. Same shot.

He blatantly fouled Wallace, Beasley and JJB in the same season. A 5 game suspension isn't enough by any means. This idiot deserves 15-20 games IMO.

Kidd Karma · 05-11-2011, 04:35 PM

Interesting, probably different story if he's on a different team.

GermanBlitzkrieg · 05-11-2011, 04:35 PM

Help me out, I still do not understand. If I try to hurt a coworker at work, I'm going to JAIL. My job may be a worry, but my freedom would be at stake. Why does this man, and anybody who does a premeditated attack on someone, just because it's a sport, get off without criminal repercussions? Where is that in US law? In city, state, or county law?

"Because thy play professional sports, thy may plan to hurt and maim. Thy league shall be judge, jury, and executioner for all punishment."

It's got to be written somewhere.

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 04:36 PM

Most certainly a different story if he's on a different team...

bernardos70 · 05-11-2011, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sportstudi

He blatantly fouled Wallace, Beasley and JJB in the same season. A 5 game suspension isn't enough by any means. This idiot deserves 15-20 games IMO.

To be more precise, the Gerald Wallace foul that sent him to the hospital was in 2009, but that doesn't diminish the fact that he did this three times the same way. Elbow to the ribcage of an airborne player. 10 game minimum, but I wouldn't be against more.

Also, here's what Barea had to say about it (got it from the thread "ESPN trying to start some drama" article)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ tough-as-nails Barea

It's good that he apologized.He's a great guy I think. Great player. He's a pro. He didn't want to hurt me. I think he just got frustrated at the moment. ... He just wasn't thinking and he took it out on me.

Just makes Barea look that much better and Bynum that much bigger a jerk.

Fragism · 05-11-2011, 04:48 PM

I think if he doesn't learn his lesson and does it again teams and owners will be calling for blood. They're not paying millions of dollars for their players to have potentially their season ended or worse by a cry baby scrub.

Underdog · 05-11-2011, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GermanBlitzkrieg

Help me out, I still do not understand. If I try to hurt a coworker at work, I'm going to JAIL. My job may be a worry, but my freedom would be at stake. Why does this man, and anybody who does a premeditated attack on someone, just because it's a sport, get off without criminal repercussions? Where is that in US law? In city, state, or county law?

"Because thy play professional sports, thy may plan to hurt and maim. Thy league shall be judge, jury, and executioner for all punishment."

It's got to be written somewhere.

The law works a little differently when you sign a contract - athletes agree to a waiver that allows the league, not the law, to investigate and administer justice for any type of physical injury on the job, be it accidental or blatant...

dude1394 · 05-11-2011, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underdog

The law works a little differently when you sign a contract - athletes agree to a waiver that allows the league, not the law, to investigate and administer justice for any type of physical injury on the job, be it accidental or blatant...

That being said if it were a career ending injury I would sure be looking at a civil suit if possible. Take my potential 40mill career out of his hide.

Kirobaito · 05-11-2011, 09:08 PM

When Todd Bertuzzi took out Steve Moore, he was charged in Canada with assault causing bodily harm, a criminal offense that he pled guilty to. In certain circumstances, regular avenues do come into play.

wilmtalk · 05-12-2011, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underdog

The law works a little differently when you sign a contract - athletes agree to a waiver that allows the league, not the law, to investigate and administer justice for any type of physical injury on the job, be it accidental or blatant...

Actually a person can never sign away their constitutional rights for equal protection under the law. If the action commited is covered under the law a contract can not negate it. Example If a person were to strangle another player during the game that would be a homicide and not under the leagues jurisdiction.

A lot depends on the action taken. I mean a boxer could not file assault charges for what happens in the ring. But if the fight were over and he was assaulted after the contest that would be a different matter. It would depend on the peramiter of the rules. The issue in question is that the players agree to let the league enforce the rules of the contest. But the league in fact would have to show that they were doing so in a consciences manner. If in fact Bynam were to severly injure another player not only Bynam but also the league could be held liable because of their failure to do so.

Just because a business has their employees sign waivers does not mean they are carte Blanke legal.