NBL fines Heal and Mackinnon

The National Basketball League (NBL) Tribunal has delivered its ruling on the charges laid against Shane Heal and Sam Mackinnon following the South Dragons versus Brisbane Bullets Philips Championship match in Melbourne last Friday night.

Both players where found ‘guilty’ of ‘Fighting’ in the match, with Heal receiving a $1,000 fine and Mackinnon a $800 fine.

The verdict was delivered after the charges where heard by NBL Tribunal Chairman Ken Madsen via telephone inquiry on Tuesday afternoon.

Both players pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges.

The full findings of the Tribunal in the matter are below.

As per NBL Rules, no public comment may be made by players, coaches or clubs on Tribunal matters either before, during or after the hearing.

Charges dated 04/11/06 against Shane Heal and Sam Mackinnon

Hearing has been completed.

It would be fair to say that this incident appeared worse than it actually was, but it had all of the potential to boil over into something much worse, given the nature of this game.

It would seem that the entanglement of the players while they were still standing was no more than the usual cut and thrust of play - with Mackinnon closely marking Heal, when Heal went down over Mackinnon’s leg, he obviously pulled Mackinnon with him, perhaps instinctively.

It was what then happened on the floor which led to the ejection of the players and reporting to the Tribunal. Heal appears to have been marginally more responsible for the grappling which happened on the floor, but I have found both players guilty as charged.

In the end, I can see this only at the lower end of incidents that I have dealt with.

Penalties:

Shane Heal – (South Dragons) given his previous record in appearing before the Tribunal and his being marginally more responsible for what happened on the floor - fined $1,000.

Sam Mackinnon – (Brisbane Bullets) given that he has not been to the Tribunal previously and bears slightly less responsibility for what happened on the floor - fined $800.

Each fine is payable to the NBL Office by no later than 5:00pm AEDT on Friday 17 November 2006, in default the offending player is suspended for the next NBL fixture game for his club after that time.

Related Article:

Heal and Mackinnon Charged (Sat Nov 4)