Los Angeles Forward Blake Griffin will be out 4-6 weeks. He broke his hand during an argument with an assistant equipment manager, Matias Testi. The incident occurred at a Toronto restaurant. Testi and Griffin traded insults and began to argue. Griffin hit him inside the restaurant and Testi got up and left. Allegedly, Griffin followed him and hit him again outside the restaurant. According to CBSsports.com, Griffin has a spiral fracture in his hand after throwing the punch. ESPN also said that Testi had visible injuries to his face. The NBA is investigating the incident.
ESPN.com stated Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer said, “This conduct has no place in our organization and this incident does not represent who we are as a team. We are conducting a full investigation with assistance from the NBA. At the conclusion of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken.” Blake Griffin has no excuse for what happened. If he would have just walked away from the situation he wouldn’t have a broken hand.
Griffin has to understand what he did is unacceptable. The NBA should suspend him for at least ten games and have him take an anger management class. On top of that, there should be a fine. Sitting him down may not do much good but hitting in the pocketbook might. The NBA would also send the message that an NBA player has to be a role model on and off the court. What he did was really uncalled for.
If the NBA doesn’t suspend him, hopefully the Clippers will. Matias Testi should also press charges against Blake Griffin. This is a case of assault. Hopefully the right decision will be made so that Griffin won’t see the NBA court for a while.
How should the Clippers and the NBA handle this?
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