The Chicago Bulls suspended Bobby Portis eight games for his involvement in an altercation that left his teammate Nikola Mirotic hospitalized with facial injuries and a concussion.
The team’s VP of basketball operations John Paxson announced the suspension when speaking with reporters Wednesday.
“Both players owned responsibility in the incident itself but only one player threw a punch and that punch connected and for us that is inexcusable,” Paxson said. “It’s not who we are.”
The altercation occurred Tuesday during Chicago’s practice.
Mirotic is expected to miss four to six weeks and needs to clear concussion protocol before potentially undergoing surgery to repair his facial fractures.
Portis, a 2015 first-round pick of the Bulls, will be allowed to practise with his team during the suspension.
[relatedlinks]
