CJ McCollum Took The Blame For His Suspension While Other Players Ripped The NBA

CJ McCollum was suspended for the Portland Trail Blazers’ season opener on Saturday morning when the NBA revealed that McCollum stepped onto the court from the bench in a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. During a small scuffle between Alex Len and Caleb Swanigan, McCollum made a few reactionary steps on to the court before someone from the Blazers pulled him back over to the bench. As Phoenix Suns fans would know, you can’t do that.

Ever since the infamous Malice at the Palace that saw the Pacers and Pistons brawl into the Detriot crowd, the NBA has taken aggressive steps toward making sure nothing like that ever happens again, with one of those steps being an automatic suspension for any player that enters the court from the bench like McCollum did on Wednesday night.

McCollum’s suspension came as a shock to everyone because his involvement in the scuffle on Wednesday was so minor that nobody was really talking about it. That shock factor is part of the reason why the NBA is getting universally killed for the suspension despite the fact that they’re just following the rules the way they were written. It caught everyone off guard, including teammate Evan Turner.

Turner clearly thinks it’s a ridiculous amount of money for someone to lose just for taking a few steps onto the floor.

He also suggested the fine go toward a worthy cause.

It’s easy to relate to Turner’s reaction here. If you take one look at the footage, C.J. McCollum really didn’t do anything of consequence, but he broke an NBA rule that probably needs adjusting. The punishment just doesn’t fit the crime, but it’s too late for that now.

Evan Turner wasn’t the only one annoyed. Andre Iguodala added his two cents as well, with a likely nod to the NBA’s increasing control over its players.

Turner and Iguodala are clearly upset. Most NBA fans think the league got this one wrong, but what does C.J. McCollum think? ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi reached out to McCollum for a statement, and his reconciliatory reaction might surprise you.

“I’ve been in the league way too long to have a mental lapse like that. I want to apologize to my teammates and the organization for putting our team in this situation. The Western Conference is already tough enough as it is. It won’t happen again. Lesson learned. I take full responsibility for those eight expensive and costly steps.”

McCollum already had a reputation around the league as one of the NBA’s consummate professionals, and his reaction here only reinforces that reputation. The league’s suspension decision may have struck a chord with players, writers, and fans, but McCollum himself owned up to everything and even apologized for his actions.

It doesn’t make it a good rule, though.