Blake Griffin suspended 4 games for punching team staffer
Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin will be suspended four games without pay for punching assistant equipment manager Matias Testi, the team announced.
Griffin will also have his pay withheld for one additional game for sustaining a broken hand during the altercation.
The Clippers worked in accordance with the league office on Griffin's punishment, Dan Woike of the OC County Registrar reports.
Griffin - who was sitting out with a torn quad at the time - reportedly punched Testi repeatedly during a heated confrontation while the team was in Toronto on Jan. 23. Testi was treated for facial lacerations at a nearby hospital, and has since experienced debilitating headaches, ESPN reports.
The aftermath has put the Clippers' playoff run in jeopardy. Griffin is the Clippers' leading scorer, but he's expected to miss four-to-six weeks - or perhaps longer. To date he's undergone two surgical procedures in his recovery from the fracture.
A two-month recovery, along with the suspension, should put Griffin on-course for a return to action in the last week of the regular season.
Griffin has since apologized to his friend Testi, as well as the NBA world at large for his actions, and Clippers head coach Doc Rivers has reassured both parties that they would be welcomed back to the organization with open arms.
However, reports have circulated across the league in regards to Griffin's availability. Should the Clippers fail, once again, to make a deep playoff run, the 25-year-old superstar forward might be shopped.
Prior to the fight and the quad injury, Griffin put up averages of 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, and five assists per game while shooting 50.8 percent from the field. The Clippers have, surprisingly, gone 17-4 in his absence, but a soft schedule and a resurgence from Chris Paul has mostly accounted for that.
The deferred salary will be donated to disadvantaged youth in Los Angeles, and additionally, Griffin will also support the cause with his time.