The NBA fined the Hawks $100,000 for holding Trae Young out of a recent game, a violation of its player participation policy, the league announced in a news release Tuesday.
The Hawks ruled out Young for its matchup against the Celtics in Boston on Nov. 12, which was the first of four Group Play games in the NBA Cup.
The Hawks listed Young on their injury report the night before the game and then ruled him out with right Achilles tendinitis. He returned to the team’s rotation one game and three days later on Nov. 15 against the Wizards.
The league said Tuesday it conducted an investigation that included a review by an independent physician. The release said: “The league determined that the Hawks held Young out of the game that he could have played in under the medical standard in the policy. The organization’s conduct violated the policy, which is intended to promote participation in the NBA’s regular season.”
Young had played significant minutes for the Hawks, averaging 36.6 minutes per game in the first 11 games of the seasons due to several injuries decimating the team’s roster.
Just four games before, he left the Hawks’ home matchup against the Celtics on Nov. 4, which the team eventually said was due to a right rib sprain.
When asked about the Achilles injury following the missed game, Young mentioned the injury had been lingering since the start of the season. He said Nov. 15, “It just started feeling a little more uncomfortable before the last game. Sometimes you got to stop me from myself sometimes. And so I got some advice that I should sit. And that’s why guys were with us, and we went up (to Boston) and won. The team played great. And yeah, it was just more of a precaution thing, and it’s something I’m going to have to play through. But tonight it wasn’t nothing too crazy.”
Per the NBA’s player participation policy, “Teams must ensure that star players are available for national TV and NBA Cup games.”
Should a star player miss one or more games, the league office will investigate using an independent physician (when necessary) to review any available medical information. They also interview key team personnel and, if necessary, the player, and consider the circumstances — player’s injury history, team’s schedule, standings, public comments, participation in other games, among other things.
The league defines a “star player” as any player who, in any of the prior three seasons, was named to the All-NBA team or All-Star team (plus, at any time in a season after the All-Star game, any player who was named to that season’s All-Star team).
Following the league’s determination, the Hawks cannot appeal the decision.
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