Desmond Bane, a player for the Memphis Grizzlies, faced ejection when his team played the Atlanta Hawks this past fall. This contentious play happened in the third quarter of an exciting game. With 5:24 remaining in the quarter, Bane committed a hard foul on Onyeka Okongwu, which led to officials assessing a flagrant foul. Upon further evaluation of the play, it was Bane who was hit with a technical foul. He deserved to be ejected for throwing the ball at Okongwu.
In fairness, their incident was during a very emotionally charged period of an intense game, where emotions were clearly flaring. Bane had already picked up four fouls at this point, but after all of this craziness, it caused officials to really investigate. They looked at the tape and within minutes determined that Bane’s actions warranted his removal from the game. This ruling was something that left him deflated, dejected and despondent. He shared his dissent with the ruling publicly, then challenged it in court.
During the time he was on the court, Bane only registered nine points and during 22 minutes, that’s not an effective contribution. His ejection not only marked the end of his significant contribution to the match, but fundamentally changed the flow and tone of the match. The Orlando Magic were a completely different team without him on the floor. He was the key to their offensive attack.
This unusual ejection has led to some interesting conversations between fans and analysts alike about the consistency of officiating across the league. Ohm Youngmisuk had the call for the game and wrote about how these types of calls affect games and players’ spirits.
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