Renaldo Balkman of Puerto Rico grabs a rebound during action against Canada at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, October 28, 2011. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
Former NBA player Renaldo Balkman was receiving more attention Friday for choking a teammate during a game in the Philippines than he did during his uncelebrated NBA career with the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks.
Balkman, playing for the Petron Blaze Boosters, went after teammate Arwind Santos with less than a minute left in a game on Thursday.
Upset about a call, a demonstrative Balkman set off the incident by bumping an official. After his coach and another teammate tried to calm Balkman down, Santos came over to intervene. Balkman promptly shoved Santos, the team captain, and Santos pushed back. That’s when Balkman put a choke-hold on Santos.
Balkman said he was sorry Friday morning on Twitter. “I wld like to apologize to the fans, Petron Blaze, my teammates, the PBA and especially ztubidronald71 and zArwind029. I got caught up in the moment of a very intense game. I respect zArwind029 as a person & player.I am proud to be part of zPetronBlaze fam.”
Balkman was released by the Knicks to make room on the roster for J.R. Smith.
