NBA Special Report: Mayo-Allen confrontation paves way to an on-flight gambling ban for the Grizzlies
Just a couple of days after a card game went awry and paved way to a physical bout between O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen on the team’s charter flight, the aftershocks have started to appear.
Memphis Grizzlies spokesman Dustin Krugel said on Wednesday that the Grizzlies will allow "no more gambling" on flights.
The embarrassing situation unfolded Wednesday morning when the Grizzlies confirmed that a “brief altercation” occurred between Mayo and Allen en-route team’s charter flight back to Memphis. The incident immediately burst into the centre stage and took the
gloss of Memphis’s blow-out 104-85 win against the two-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers.
Coach Lionel Hollins seems to be the most perturbed by the unfortunate development and his message was loud and clear to the team.
"We're in a confined airplane and things get heated. I'm done with it. No more gambling," Hollins said. "I told my guys if they read a book, that would be good. They have to entertain themselves in a different manner."
The argument stemmed during a game of “Boo-Ray,” a card game extremely popular in the NBA circles. Mayo owed Allen some money, but the 23-year-old guard became increasingly irritated when asked to pay his obligation.
Allen tried not make the money-related argument into an issue and reportedly walked away from Mayo to head for the restroom. Upon returning though, he still found Mayo beating about the bush. Allen warned Mayo to stop instigating him, but the young guard
never listened and the repeated confrontation finally swelling into an all-out physical brawl.
Allen struck Mayo at least five times until being separated by teammates.
Even though Allen threw the first punch, the Grizzlies management blames Mayo for spurring the incident. Mayo apparently suffered a swollen eye and missed Tuesday's showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder, although the Grizzlies tried to convince otherwise,
stating that his absence was simply the result of "bronchitis."
Mayo and Allen met coach Hollins on Monday and Allen apologized to the team for his outburst. It is still unclear though, how this incident will affect Mayo's already unsettled future with the team. Unhappy at not receiving a lucrative contractual extension,
this incident could well prove to be the last straw in Mayo’s stint with the Grizzlies.
NBA, on the other hand, has not ruled out the possibility of a disciplinary action against the duo.
"We're monitoring the situation," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said in written statement.
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