Reports emerged on July 10 that former Miami Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro got involved in a physical altercation at a gym inside the Resorts World Casino in Las Vegas.
After Herro, who was recently traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, allegedly sent some DMs criticizing Adebayo’s play and salary. The DMs were leaked, and Adebayo was unhappy. Adebayo reportedly confronted Herro in front of Herro’s AAU team and punched him.
Such an action would normally result in consequences. However, on Thursday, July 16, the NBA announced that it would not be taking action against Adebayo for the conflict.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, a league spokesperson said the league believes it best to simply “move on from this unfortunate circumstance.”
The decision has some fans puzzled, considering other players have been hit with much harsher penalties for less. Here’s what we know.
What is a normal NBA punishment for physical violence against another player?
A previous altercation that first comes to mind is the October 2022 incident in which Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green punched then-teammate Jordan Poole at practice.
Though Green was not suspended for his actions, he was fined, per the NBA.
Furthermore, in the NBA’s latest collective bargaining agreement, the commissioner of the league is granted power to to investigate and penalize players for conduct deemed detrimental to the league, even during the offseason or in private situations.
Although similar instances to Adebayo and Herro resulted in fines – in 2016 Matt Barnes made inappropriate comments about then-Knicks head coach Derek Fisher or the 2012 incident that saw Stephen Jackson make threatening statements on social media directed at Serge Ibaka after an on-court fight — the NBA apparently does not see the conflict between Adebayo and Herro as “detrimental to the league.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA won’t take action in Bam Adebayo-Tyler Herro incident
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