The T1 LEAGUE has announced several suspensions and fines for a melee late in the game between the Taoyuan Leopards and the TaiwanBeer HeroBears in Taipei on Sunday that led to the ejections of a coach, a team executive and 10 players.
The incident was triggered with just under a minute in the game and the Leopards ahead 120-102 and in possession of the ball.
Defended by HeroBears’ captain Chiang Yu-an (???) who was closing in on him after fighting off a pick, Leopards guard Chen Hsiao-jung (???) swung the ball from left to right, smashing his arm or elbow into Chiang’s face.
Chiang immediately retaliated by shoving Chen and the two squared off to fight, but were quickly separated by the referees.
That might have been the end of it, but Herobears assistant coach Lin Chieh-ho (???) chased Chen down the court and tried to punch him in front of the Leopards’ bench.
Several Leopards players left the bench to go after Lin, who was ejected, while others tried to stop the fighting from getting more out of hand.
On Monday, the league saved its stiffest punishment for Lin, suspending him for 30 games and fining him NT$300,000 (US$9,872) for leaving the bench and attacking Chen.
It also said it will suggest to the T1 LEAGUE’s executive council that Lin be removed as a director of the league.
Leopards Chairman Ocean Liu (???) was the other non-player to be punished. He was suspended for 10 games and fined NT$200,000 for leaving the bench to kick the HeroBears assistant coach.
The league also asked the two franchises to consider changes to Lin and Liu’s positions with their respective teams, but said the changes were not mandatory.
Six players were also suspended and fined, most of them belonging to the Leopards.
Leopards
Chen Hsiao-jung (ejected), fined NT$50,000, suspended three games
Lu Chieh-min (???, not ejected), NT$50,000, three games
Lo Chen-feng (???, not ejected), NT$50,000, three games
Tseng Pin-fu (???, ejected), NT$50,000, three games
Huang Yi-sheng (???, not registered), NT$25,000, one game
HeroBears
Chiang Yu-an (???, ejected), NT$25,000, one game
The league said there would be no punishment for the other seven players and staffer who were ejected Sunday — the HeroBears’ Huang Chen (??), Liang Hao-zhen (???) and Tsao Xun-xiang (???), and the Leopards’ Dwight Howard, Lin Yi-huei (???), Michael Efevberha and trainer Dimitrios Jimmy Vidas.
The seven were cleared Monday because they took to the court to try to prevent the altercation from getting worse.
According to sports news website TSNA, the Leopards were not satisfied with the ruling because it felt the punishment was not proportional, given that most of the suspensions went to players on the Leopards.
Tsai Chin-yu (???), head of public relations for the Leopards, said the franchise respected the league’s decision, but would remain in contact with the league hoping it would see its side of the issue.
In a phone interview with CNA, the head of T1 LEAGUE referees Chen Chuan-jen (???) said the ejections were based on FIBA and T1 rules.
“When there is an altercation or an altercation-oriented incident, whoever comes off the bench is ejected, even if they did nothing wrong,” Chen said.
Speaking after the game, HeroBears General Manager Ha Hsiao-yuan (???) apologized for Lin’s attack.
“It was definitely wrong for our assistant coach to rush out first and attack their player … I’m sorry (we) set such a bad example.”
Ha promised Sunday that the franchise would discipline Lin beyond the punishment handed down by the league, but as of Monday night the Herobears had yet to announce how they would deal with their assistant coach.
Leopards head coach Bobo Liu (???) condemned Lin for making things worse.
“They (Chiang Yu-an and Chen Hsiao-jung) were just two little guards. It would have been fine if they were pulled away from each other,” Liu said.
Leopards star Howard also voiced his doubts over the officiating, believing the referees could have done a better job to stop the melee.
“For them to try and pinpoint me and Mike (Efevberha) out of all the players that were on the court, even from the HeroBears, I felt like that was really messed up, cause we were trying to be peacemakers, and for them to take us out and try to suspend us, I feel like it’s more than just what happened tonight,” the former NBA superstar said Sunday.
In a post on Instagram after the game that appears to be authentic but was later taken down, Chen tried in part to justify his move, saying he retaliated against Chiang because of what had happened in the previous 30 seconds.
He wrote that Chiang, a veteran, was angered after Chen, a rookie, made a nice defensive play on Chiang and held up a finger signaling No. 1.
Chiang then defended Chen very physically, leading to the rookie guard’s move, according to Chen.
The Herobears still have 12 games left in the regular season, while the Leopards have 15 games left.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel