Anonymous
Years ago

Tony Mitchell suspended for a full NBL season, Feb 2018

For throwing the ball at the ref. The entire season!!

Topic #40948 | Report this topic


Nathan of Perth  
Years ago

Wow!

Okay, so it really happened. Man, what a dumb, dumb, dumb move by Mitchell.

Reply #628407 | Report this post


Kingpodge  
Years ago

simply. bizarre.

Reply #628408 | Report this post


AKA  
Years ago

Was he on a 2 year deal at Cairns? Can they replace that import spot or essentially 1 import down for season 2018? Can he go away on play in any other league?

Reply #628409 | Report this post


Kingpodge  
Years ago

he's not on contract

Reply #628411 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"Can he go away on play in any other league?"

One without refs, preferably.

Reply #628413 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

He can't move unless FIBA get clearance confirmation from Taipans.

Reply #628414 | Report this post


AKA  
Years ago

So it doesn't really impact Cairns other than they can't sign Mitchell for next season. Not a huge loss for Cairns (I assume they wouldn't have re-seigned him anyway)

Reply #628415 | Report this post


leungtl  
Years ago

Surely this would be a more appropriate time for a written letter?

Reply #628416 | Report this post


Btown  
Years ago

Ban is only for nbl. But having averaged 9points with an outstanding suspension his value surely took a hit.

Reply #628417 | Report this post


AC  
Years ago

Source?

Reply #628418 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

While we all jump up and down about the refs from time to time, they don't deserve to have unsubstantiated allegations of racial abuse thrown at them and the certainly don't deserve to have the ball thrown at them.

Reply #628419 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Man the NBL is such a daylight league. From $375 fines to full season bans.

Reply #628420 | Report this post


Splinky  
Years ago

I was at this game, but missed seeing this incident. Does anybody have a link to a YouTube clip?

Reply #628424 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

Reply #628426 | Report this post


The Last Tango  
Years ago

What fine do you get for throwing the Special #9 San Chow Bow over an opposition supporter?

Reply #628428 | Report this post


GordonG  
Years ago

"How to screw your career in one easy lesson".

Reply #628430 | Report this post


Indoorkite  
Years ago

That's a shame, he had one of the better haircuts in the league.

Reply #628431 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

^hahahahaha

Reply #628432 | Report this post


PH  
Years ago

I wonder why he did this?

Reply #628436 | Report this post


Lost In The Sky  
Years ago

What an idiot. Will definitely affect him getting another gig anywhere. Career Killer.

Reply #628439 | Report this post


Zodiac  
Years ago

It was unlikely he was going to be back in the NBL next season anyway but the real killer here in the statement is the NBL's decision to pass on the info of the suspension to FIBA & the NBA to do as they see fit with the info.

That could seriously hurt him from getting a good contract in a good league in Europe.

Reply #628441 | Report this post


Benno  
Years ago

Havent well all wanted to throw a ball at refs sometime this season?

Reply #628443 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Why we surprised, dumb player making even stupider decisions. No loss to the Nbl.

Reply #628445 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

Video of the incident:


Reply #628449 | Report this post


Kingpodge  
Years ago

The ball is mightier than the chair.

Reply #628452 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

LOL @ Cotton's head turn reaction. GIF worthy! :D

Reply #628455 | Report this post


koberulz  
Years ago

Better angles of the incident.




The tribunal booklet lists 'up to 2 years' as the suspension for attacking a ref.

Reply #628456 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Shouldn't have happened and absolutely deserved a punishment.

Though, I am really getting sick of the league picking and choosing how harshly they assess things based on the situation (finals) and who the player is as well.

No doubt the taipans informed the league they weren't interested in bringing him back next year making the penalty almost insignificant. Then the league decided they can send this message to the players to show they are serious. I would bet my house that if Brad Newley had done this it would be a 3 game suspension AT MAX. As it would have had a greater impact on the player and the league.

Again - Mitchell is a knob and deserves to not be in the league, not my point.

Reply #628457 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Tony didn't even get his money's worth. That was a love tap!

Reply #628460 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

At least we finally know what gets you more than a lame $375 fine/suspended sentence

Reply #628462 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"As an additional requirement, Mr Nolan also directed that the information regarding the penalty be provided to Basketball Australia, FIBA and the NBA. What those bodies do with the information is at their discretion."

What the hell? I wonder if the NBL players union will get involved with this.

Since when is it ok for a former employer to go out of their way to contact prospective employers to shit all over someone.

Reply #628463 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Anon #463 you're over reacting. He has been banned for a year, of course FIBA should be informed about it.

Reply #628464 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Yes FIBA as the NBL falls under their jurisdiction.

But the NBA?

Can you imagine if you were diciplined in your current job and your boss, just incase, sent out an email to your wider industry to say what a crappy employee you were?

Reply #628465 | Report this post


AKA  
Years ago

I wonder if he has to write a letter of apology to the ref?

Reply #628467 | Report this post


Is there a YouTube video of the incident at all?

Reply #628474 | Report this post


Trust me for not reloading before posting. Thanks.

Reply #628476 | Report this post


That's a bullshit suspension having watched the videos.

The picture that I had in my head after hearing of the severity of the suspension was that he grabbed the ball and threw it full force into the ref's head.

That? He should appeal it even if he has no intention of playing in the NBL ever again.

Reply #628477 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

How long should he be suspended for?

Reply #628479 | Report this post


Wilson Sting  
Years ago

"As an additional requirement, Mr Nolan also directed that the information regarding the penalty be provided to Basketball Australia, FIBA and the NBA. What those bodies do with the information is at their discretion."

It's public knowledge anyway, surely any team looking at him would google him and find a link to it.

Reply #628480 | Report this post


Wilson Sting  
Years ago

"The picture that I had in my head after hearing of the severity of the suspension was that he grabbed the ball and threw it full force into the ref's head. "

I agree; that penalty is just another embarrassment for the league's tribunal system.

Reply #628481 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"It's public knowledge anyway, surely any team looking at him would google him and find a link to it."

Someone should update both Tony Mitchell's Wikipedia pages just to make sure!

Reply #628483 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Agreed - it would be publicly knowledge and any team with a brain will come across it. This is the correct action.

Not to have the NBL sending out information to other leagues to torpedo a guys career.

Reply #628485 | Report this post


Kingpodge  
Years ago

I'm told that very often teams will use a thing called 'The Googles' to gather background on players.

That such a magical digital archive exists is beyond my comprehension, and most probably the work of Wizards.

Reply #628487 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Wasn't Mitchell the one who got screwed with that foul call when he drove the lane then kicked it out to the perimeter when Cairns closed the defecit by 5pts and yet another stop resulted in a fastbreak? If so I don't blame him. Rubbish call because the refs decided to decide the game themselves. Let the players play.

Reply #628488 | Report this post


leungtl  
Years ago

Only pass he hit all night. Time to update the box score to give him 1 assist?

http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/NBL/575001/bs.html

Reply #628491 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Wasn't a pass because they called him for a "charge", which really was a block. It was when he stole the ball when Cairns went on their run and only down by 5. 2mins left in the game just checked play by play.

Reply #628492 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

P4 01:59 23, C. Prather, Foul on
P4 01:59 11, T. Mitchell, Turnover - offensive
P4 01:59 11, T. Mitchell, Offensive Foul
P4 02:02 0, B. Cotton, Turnover - bad pass
P4 02:02 11, T. Mitchell, Steal

Reply #628493 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

^^^^ 66-61 at that point, when Cairns went on their 10-3 run

Reply #628494 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

It doesn't bloody matter if the team is able to find this out themselves. The act of the NBL actively trying to discredit a past player is atrocious.

Future imports will look at this decision negatively

Reply #628495 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

That's what triggered throwing the ball IMO. Such a disgusting, unbelievable call.

Reply #628496 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

He threw the ball in the back of the referee, and people are sticking up for him, hard or soft it was intentional. He got what he deserves.

Reply #628498 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"He got what he deserves."

When will these useless refs get their comeuppance!

Reply #628500 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

If your child ever takes up reffing for pocket money and someone throws the pill at them for a perceived error I hope you tell him or her that they deserved it because they blew a shit call!! What a disgrace half of you are

Reply #628502 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

An error now and then is fine. Not the millions of errors made by NBL refs. It has become such a farce that players are resorting to this sort of behaviour now.

Reply #628504 | Report this post


Manu Fieldel  
Years ago

Proves NBL refs are a protected species

Reply #628505 | Report this post


TimberBall  
Years ago

Hmmmm, was at the game and saw it. Turned to my Dad and went 'whoa, see that!!! There goes his match payment!' Not, he'll miss an entire season for that. A bit of an over reaction in my mind.

Reply #628508 | Report this post


I don't see anybody defending the action but rather seeing a punishment that is too harsh for the crime.

A 5-game suspension and a fine would have been more fitting.

Reply #628510 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Good point Truer. Also by pointing to the appauling reffing as being the source of Tony's frustration which resulted in the ball throw does not condone his actions.

Reply #628512 | Report this post


Thunder Jam  
Years ago

Yes he's a knob & from the very first minutes in the NBL you could tell he was a hot head. No loss to Snakes or the league.
BUT is that worse than deliberately push a ball into Trice's face?

Reply #628513 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Um yes.

Reply #628516 | Report this post


TimberBall  
Years ago

Yes, worse. Agree with @Truer, 5 games and a fine would have been fitting

Reply #628517 | Report this post


Btown  
Years ago

I don't think the league had wiggle room on the penalty going by the booklet someone posted in the Matt knight thread. Think it came under the "fixed penalties", so it's the only one to give. (Still too harsh though)

Reply #628518 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

The league booklet is a joke like the league itself. It doesn't specify the nature of contact, merely "contact." Another fail on their part.

Reply #628521 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

I think a full season is a little excessive. Five games plus the full two-year sentence suspended if there are any other physical incidents with referees seems reasonable.

I imagine if FIBA chose to sccept the fine then we'll see this appealed.

Reply #628522 | Report this post


Nathan of Perth  
Years ago

You take a deliberate shot at a referee after a game, well, you're going to miss serious time.

The deliberateness of it is what really nailed him though; grabbed the ball out of another player's hands and threw it at the back of Mayberry as he's walking away, post game?

Nah, mate.

You are the weakest link, good bye.

Reply #628529 | Report this post


ROFLcopter  
Years ago

The NBL is a total joke and embarrassment.

Reply #628531 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"Can you imagine if you were diciplined in your current job and your boss, just incase, sent out an email to your wider industry to say what a crappy employee you were? "
So if you work in a shop, and you assault your boss, you think you should just move to another shop without ur new boss being warned?

Reply #628556 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

"BUT is that worse than deliberately push a ball into Trice's face?"
You are joking right?
Knight grabbed the balled and in a fraction of a second pushed his arms out and then brought them back. Not sure why, (but not dissimilar to the actions of some players when they take a rebound) Maybe he was confused, maybe he was distracted.

Mitchell on the other hand walked all the way over to Cotton, took the ball, then threw it at the ref.

End of the day, the message is pretty clear, "we don't want you back in our league."

a 5 game suspension would just be pointless. Either it kills off his chances anyway, or Cairns get penalised by missing a player for 5 weeks if they want to keep him.

Reply #628558 | Report this post


ROFLcopter  
Years ago

Madgen threw a chair at the ref. No penalty.

Reply #628559 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

ROFLcopter great example.

Reply #628571 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

ROFLcopter, that was when BA were running the league, it's not really a precedent this admin would consider.

Reply #628577 | Report this post


AngusH  
Years ago

Good to see the NBL isn't afraid to dish out meaningless punishments.

Reply #628580 | Report this post


koberulz  
Years ago

I think a full season is a little excessive. Five games plus the full two-year sentence suspended if there are any other physical incidents with referees seems reasonable.
If there were a bad call and he was holding the ball, and reacted by immediately throwing it at the ref, maybe. But he deliberately went up to Cotton well after the game was over with the express purpose of getting the ball and throwing it at Mayberry. With that level of forethought, a year is reasonable IMO.

Reply #628581 | Report this post


Kingpodge  
Years ago

Paul - they're operating under the same BA/FIBA rules so they're singing from the same hymn sheet.

Reply #628583 | Report this post


koberulz  
Years ago

They're not operating under the same tribunal procedures, though. They quite publicly overhauled the system last season, releasing a document that outlined the penalties for any given violation.

Attacking/threatening a ref is a max of 1-2 years. By definition it's attacking, although probably not the kind of attack they had in mind when they outlined that penalty, but it's also clearly worse than a threat. So a year seems pretty fair.

Madgen's occurred in the heat of the moment and may not have been intentional. This isn't at all similar, even if the same processes applied.

Reply #628585 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

I couldn't disagree more. In fact, they overhauled their tribunal system last season, so in that area (and most others) they're running the NBL much different to what BA did.

Reply #628586 | Report this post


koberulz  
Years ago

Here is the information booklet they released.

Reply #628587 | Report this post


koberulz  
Years ago

I couldn't disagree more. In fact, they overhauled their tribunal system last season, so in that area (and most others) they're running the NBL much different to what BA did.
That's exactly what I said, paul, learn to read! :p

Reply #628588 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

You both posted simultaneously.

Reply #628590 | Report this post


koberulz  
Years ago

You both posted simultaneously.

Reply #628593 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Missed the :p

Reply #628594 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

My deepest apologies Kobz!

Reply #628598 | Report this post


J  
Years ago

The guy fouls all the time.
I can't stand the way our refs act like they have never made a mistake in their lives, none the less this crosses the very fair and reasonable line of behaviour towards referees.

Tweet that he is a C if you want but don't make physical contact, esp with malice intended. The refs back was turned, it was soooooooooo stupid.

Reply #628601 | Report this post


Vic Wildcat  
Years ago

Good on the NBL, regardless of what people think of the refs this year, you have to show them a level of respect.

I don't believe for 1 minute any of these errors they have made this year are deliberate. Go back through all the games this year, and compare the mistakes by refs against mistakes by players, and there would be a fair chance the players have made more. One thing we get over the refs is a slow motion relay, they need to make a decision on the spot. It's not an easy job, and you will only ever keep 50% of the supporters on side.

People just like to focus on the refs to take away the spotlight from their own teams faults.

IMO it is a fair suspension, and the NBL has got this right.

Reply #628608 | Report this post


Freethrows  
Years ago

It's a stupidly long suspension. This, from the same NBL that suspended Josh Childress for two games for intentionally trying to decapitate Wagstaff?

I know Mayberry is a referee, not a player, but to flip a ball at someone in disgust and to actively attempt to smash someone in the face with an elbow are two entirely different things, and you cannot seriously suggest that a one year ban for the one offence is in anything like proportion with a two game ban for the other.

It won't make a lick of difference in terms of the NBL career of Tony Mitchell - he wasn't going to be asked back, anyway - and I suppose it serves as a standard set for other, future actions... I'll bet that if a bona fide NBL star flips a ball and it hits a ref in the future, there'll be mitigating circumstances "oh, he said sorry", or "he didn't mean it."

Another example of the NBL's poor form in terms of differing standards is the "punishment" handed down to Matty Knight for pushing the ball in Travis Trice's face. What a joke.

It's a stupid decision, which should be challenged and reduced.

Reply #628637 | Report this post


Luuuc  
Years ago

I'm on the record here as saying that we need to significantly elevate the respect shown to refs in the NBL for the good of the comp, but even I think this penalty is over the top.
Think of what it takes to get yourself suspended for more than 2 games in this league. Pretty severe things. Then consider what TM really did.
Going after refs is an absolute no-no. That's beyond question. But a year for that is not right.

Evidently the Australian Basketballers' Association doesn't think it's right either:


Reply #628657 | Report this post


koberulz  
Years ago

It's a stupidly long suspension. This, from the same NBL that suspended Josh Childress for two games for intentionally trying to decapitate Wagstaff?
No, it's not the same NBL.

Reply #628661 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

At the end of the day he's supposed to be a professional athlete, es being paid to do a job, he's being paid to represent his team and the league, and paid to set an examp,e to those aspiring to follow in his footsteps even on the domestic level.
He has a responsibility to behave respectfully at all times, sponsors do not want their money being put into any person or team that is associated with bad press.
These imports in particular come here thinking they are it and a bit, they are usually very low class NBL development p,ayers who would be unlikely to get any further in America or college grads who carry their egos on their shoulders like the Rocky Mountains.

It was a deliberate act , one that he should have been mature enough not to carry out.
And yes FIBA and the NBA should be made aware of how this player behaves when they haven't got their own way.

Bad calls are made all the time, get over it, fir every person who thinks a call is bad their will be the same if not more people who think it's good, once that whistle is blown they can't and won't change the call.
To retaliate at the end of a game , he deserves what he got.

Reply #628725 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Can anyone prove he was throwing it at Mayberry and NOT Prather. If it wasn't for Mayberry's arm it would have hit Prather square in the back. He barely hit Mayberry which says to me he wasn't aiming at him, I would expect an NBA player to be able to hit their target over that distance.

Reply #628731 | Report this post


Manu Fieldel  
Years ago

Update:

On Saturday 25th February, the NBL received a request from Mr Todd Ramasar, agent for Tony Mitchell, seeking an extension to the time allowed under the NBL Rules for the lodgement of an appeal to the decision handed down by the Independent Tribunal on Friday 24th February regarding Mitchell.

The grounds for this request were that both the player and his agent were on flights returning home from Australia at the time the decision was handed down.

The NBL granted an additional 24 hours for Mitchell to review the penalty and lodge an appeal should he wish to do so. This extension expired on Sunday 26th February at 11:45am AEDT. No appeal was received within the newly extended timeframe.

At 1:45pm AEDT, Sunday 26th February, an official request for review and apology for not meeting the timeframe was received by the NBL from Mr Ramasar on behalf of Tony Mitchell.

As the request falls outside the rules of the NBL, a ruling is being sought from the Chairperson of the full tribunal, Alanna Duffy, on whether the appeal will be considered.

If Ms Duffy is to consider his appeal, Mitchell is required to make a AU$2,000 deposit to the NBL of which $1,000 can be refunded at the discretion of the full tribunal. For an appeal to be heard one of the following grounds must be met:

1. The decision of the Single Member Tribunal is considered unreasonable and a case can be made that no Tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it.

2. The classification of the offence is manifestly incorrect.

3. The penalty imposed is manifestly incorrect or excessive.
If one of these grounds are met, a new tribunal is convened with a three member panel to consider the appeal, Ms Duffy would be the Chair of this panel.

The NBL have no further comment until a decision on appeal is decided.

Reply #628791 | Report this post


FM  
Years ago

There is another time in the game that the return of the ball to the refs could be regarded as striking. Not sure if it was near the end of the third or fourth quarter. Mitchell gets pinned, then ditches the ball at the ref.

Reply #628843 | Report this post


Luuuc  
Years ago


Mitchell's NBL ban reduced on appeal


Cairns import Tony Mitchell's season-long NBL ban for throwing the ball at a referee has been reduced to 10 matches on appeal.


Reply #630061 | Report this post


Wilson Sting  
Years ago

Surely the system of a Single Member Tribunal is flawed, given the fact that all of the decisions have been subsequently downgraded.

Reply #630070 | Report this post




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