Suspensions and FInes

During last night’s game between the Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat, there was tension and a bit of violence which led to the ejection of some players following with fines and suspensions. Washington Wizards’ rookie, John Wall, has been fined and suspended for one game for throwing a closed-fist and forearm to the midsection of Ilgauskas. This started by Ilgauskas giving Wall an elbow to the face which aggravated Wall to act as he did. Both players were ejected and as Ilgauskas was being ejected he made some obscence gestures which he was fined for. John Wall will be serving his suspension when the Wizards host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, April 1 and Ilgauskas was fined $25,000 and Juwan Howard was also fined $35,000 for his behavior on the court as well. The game ended with the Miami Heat coming on top with a 123-107 victory over the Wizards.

It’s very disappointing to see athletes be angry over nothing and start “crap” for no apparent reason. As professional athletes, I expect them to keep their composure even when others may provoke them to do otherwise. John Wall’s reaction is somewhat understandable because he is a rookie and he didn’t necessarily start the conflict, but for Ilguaskas, he should have toned it down and as someone who has been in this league for some time, he should have known better. In addition, I feel that these punishments, fines, and suspensions are not enough to keep players from doing this again. There needs to be something more severe so things like this can be prevented and the game of basketball can be enjoyed for what it is.