Ex-NBA player Johnson’s Philippines life ban reduced to one season

MANILA: Ex-NBA player Ivan Johnson has had his lifetime ban in the Philippines’ professional league for a foul-mouthed outburst at an official reduced to one year after he made a personal apology, the league said.

Ex-Atlanta Hawk Johnson was banished mid-game on Saturday after he used “the f-word” in an argument with Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Chito Narvasa.

But after a meeting with the player, who plays with the Talk‘N Text Tropang Texters team, Narvasa reduced the ban to one season, league spokesman Willie Marcial said yesterday.

“He apologised, he explained to us ... he is really different on the court.

“He wanted to show he is really a good man,” Marcial said of the meeting, where he said Johnson brought along his wife and two children.

“I really love my fans in the Philippines,” Marcial quoted Johnson, 31, as saying.

The PBA also reduced Johnson’s 250,000-peso fine (RM22,152) to 150,000 pesos (RM13,291), Marcial added.

The 6ft 8in (2.03m) power forward, has had a chequered career, having been suspended for one game earlier this month for fighting with players of an opposing team.

He was also banned for life by the Korean Basketball League in 2010 for making an obscene gesture at a referee.

And during an abbreviated 20112013 NBA career, he was fined for various altercations with fans and officials.

Marcial said: “He (Johnson) knows if he does something again, he will really be finished in the Philippines.”

In a post on Twitter, Johnson apologised to Narvasa, adding that “this lifetime ban is truly unfortunate and devastating to me being that I feel at home and most welcomed when playing here in the Philippines.”

Foreign imports are highly-valued in the basketball-crazy Philippines where they can play a dominant role in the highly-competitive PBA.

But foreign players can find themselves under a microscope, where they may be penalised for any offence.

Ex-New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets player Renaldo Balkman was banned and fined by the PBA after he choked a team-mate in 2013.

Last year, former NBA player Daniel Orton was fired by his own team after he criticised revered Philippines boxing champ Manny Pacquiao for embarking on a professional basketball career. — AFP