Bogut delivers rocket to NBL chiefs
AUSTRALIAN basketball great Andrew Bogut has blasted the NBL for its lack of communication with players, as well as the “retroactive” management that led to the Sydney Kings’ grand final series against Perth being cancelled.
Perth, who led the series 2-1 ahead of last night’s scheduled fourth game, were awarded the title on Thursday in extraordinary circumstances as sports grapple with the coronavirus crisis.
The season was halted on Tuesday when the Kings informed the league they were no longer comfortable participating in the series because of the coronavirus threat.
The NBL subsequently gave themselves a 48-hour window to determine the outcome of the series.
Kings centre Bogut said he had no issue with the eventual decision but slammed the league for not leading the process, saying players had been “used like pawns”.
“It’s hugely disappointing for any professional athlete to make the decision we had made,” he said.
“To me, what’s more disappointing is how the NBL have handled this. That’s got nothing to do with Perth, I’ve got no issues with all that.
“The retroactive aspect of this (from the NBL) has been 10 out of 10. The proactive was barely one (out of 10). The reactive stuff is probably about five.”
Bogut said there were no contingency plans or scenarios formulated by the league and that players were treated as “an afterthought”.
He revealed that Kings players broke down in tears during a three-hour meeting, and a number of players were struggling mentally with the situation.