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Fined N2.7m by NBA
After jostling for rebounding position with Raptors big man, Tyler Hansbrough, with only four seconds remaining in the third quarter, Ezeli appeared to grab Hansbrough near the throat, which led to
Hansbrough squaring off and pushing Ezeli away.
The referees separated the players and immediately ejected Hansbrough from the game, but required several minutes of deliberation before determining that Ezeli should be ejected too. Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, was disappointed with Ezeli after the game, saying: “He’s hardly played.
One of the reasons we played him (Friday) is that our defence hasn’t been good, and we wanted more rim protection when Andrew Bogut went out.
He did a really good job in the first quarter. I wanted to play him most of the fourth quarter, but he got tossed at the end of the third, and all of those minutes go down the drain. It was a shame.” After the game, Ezeli, in defence of his action, told reporters: “He kind of got in my face, and that’s not something I should bother myself with — somebody like that.”
The NBA however took offence at Ezeli’s role in the altercation and handed the Nigerian a onegame suspension without pay. That suspension cost Ezeli $13,572 (around N2.7million), and on Monday he offered an apology, promising never to stoop so low again.
“I realise I have fans and friends from all over and of all ages supporting me and that’s part of what pushes me to be the best I can be,” stated Ezeli on his Instagram page on Monday.
“Now what happened the other day was very out of character for me. That was unacceptable. “Violence is never the answer and I want to apologise to everyone (Warriors organisation, teammates and coaches, friends and fans, and most especially, family). I let you guys down and it won’t happen again.”
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