Brisbane Bullets star Aron Baynes has been suspended for five NBL games after being found guilty of a variety of charges stemming from incidents in his side’s Queensland derby loss to Cairns.
Baynes fronted an NBL single-member tribunal on Thursday night, with charges of excessive disputing, unsportsmanlike conduct and an abnormal or unacceptable act in basketball being upheld.
“The NBL supports the independence of both the game review panel and single member tribunal, and respects the decision of the SMT,” an NBL statement read.
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Baynes clashed with Taipans coach Adam Forde at half-time last Saturday night at Nissan Arena, with the physical altercation reportedly leading to a wall being damaged.
“I unreservedly accept that my conduct was unacceptable, and I have fallen short of the standard expected of a representative of the Brisbane Bullets and the NBL,” Baynes said on Thursday night.
“I wish to sincerely apologise for my actions.”
Forde was cleared of any wrongdoing by the NBL
“Despite all the public speculation, I remained silent during this investigation as I felt this was the best course of action,” Forde said.
“It has been difficult to remain quiet given all the accusations, but I have been comfortable knowing that once footage and audio was obtained, I would be cleared of any wrongdoing.
“The unedited and original CCTV footage and audio shows I was outside our team’s change-room and proves I did not start the verbal conversation or instigate any physical exchange.
“I would like to thank the Cairns Taipans for their support during this process, the NBL and the Cairns community.”
Baynes ejected after heated blow up | 01:33
Before his altercation with Forde, Baynes had earlier been in an on-court confrontation with Cairns forward Lat Mayen, who was charged with striking the former NBA championship-winning big man.
The charge brought with it a one-game ban, but Mayen’s early guilty plea lead to the sanction being reduced to a $1550 fine.
Baynes was hit with two technical fouls for dissent towards referees in the aftermath of being struck by Mayen.
Both Baynes and Mayen were ejected from the match before the start of the third quarter.
