Hoops

NBL Statement re Abney's Foul

For heavens sakes everyone, Abney approached from behind. He used such force that there could be no question about what the consequences were going to be. I questioned in an earlier post Abney's lack of remorse for what he did. This in itself begs the question of whether it was intentional. I also questioned the fact that this incident lifted Abney's game. He did not play the rest of the game as though there was something troubling him over what had happened. The argument I received was that he is a professional and knows how to put incidences like that behind him. Where was the professional when it came to making a judgement about a potentially dangerous situation? If anyone listened to Brad Hill on Talking Hoops tonight, you would have heard him say that he has not received a single call from Abney or Townsville Crocs to see how he was or to apologise for what happended to him. Is anyone surprised by this? I certainly wasn't.

Damn, that really sucks for Brad in a contract year...
Let's all hope it is not the last we see of him in the Sixers colours... Could be another quality young guy that gets away.

At least we have instant offence Nash though...lol.

I wasn't saying he took him out Panda, just that there is a fine line between taking a guy out and a hard foul..The umpires not calling an unsportsmanlike foul there just makes it a grey area, especially when I watched the queens vs Wildcats game and there were 2 "soft" unsportsmanlike fouls called.. It confuses players and fans..

I agree it was an unfortunate incident, however it still could have happened whether laying it up, or dunking it as Abney was pumped, and flying down the court after Hill..

Is Brad still in contract after this season Isaac/anyone??

That is ridiculous, he wouldn't be hurt if he layed it up instead of slowing down and dunking it??

Come on, do you really think that would have made a difference? Abney was going for the block no matter what. I agree it was unfortunate that the way that they hit mid air caused the spill, but it was going to happen because Abney was committed to stopping the easy shot..He may have gone harder knowing it was going to be a lay up hence being more of a chance of a block!

I am not saying Abney hit him on purpose just that it was an unfortunate incident, which definately should have been called an unsportsmanslike foul, if only to set the precedent of what should be called. If a player cannot go up for a bucket without having to worry about being taken out, we might as well call it the AFL.

I am trying not to contradict myself here, because it is a fine line between playing hard and stopping soft buckets, and taking someone out..It is up to the refs to draw that line, and I think here that they didn't..

Sorry , I didn't see the incident, but the consequences are obvious.I take it that a foul was called but not an Unsportsman like?
Refs are sometimetimes hounded for calling late so they get determined to call immediately. If this was the case, then the consequences were such that the call could have been amended to unsportmanlike to suit the circumstances - no problems, there would have been a delay in game. Is it really ref stubborness that's the issue here? Oh and hindsight being a wonderful thing.
It still doesn't change one thing in regard to the points difference turn around. In sporting situations where one of your players gets touched up you STEP UP. This didn't happen so the chances of it occurring from this point in time are minimal. The veteran and name sixers will be reminded of it by opposition for the remainder of the season. So from here, go with developmentfor 2007-2008 and take the humiliation on the chin.

Sturty6ers, if there was a problem with Cooper and Bradtke, there would also be a complaint to the NBL. If so, we will hear the outcome of that as well. No one is saying its alright to do it to them but they can't do it to us. Accountability has to be enforced in situations like this. I wasn't there, it could have been a pure unavoidable accident or it could have been intentional. The authorities will need to decide.

Anon #106358, someone did get hurt out of Abney's recklessness regardless of intent.

That's one better left alone EC - there are too many cases that have gone either way in those circumstances.

Imagine this scenario, a teenager gets his first car. He invites a couple of mates to come for a drive. He shows off by driving in a reckless manner. He loses control of his car and crashes into a tree killing one of his mates. No penalty is given because he did not intend to kill his mate. He is let off scott free. Imagine the parents of the deceased how hurt and angry they would be. Response, if it hadn't resulted in a death, we wouldn't be having this argument.