Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin finds himself with a broken hand, and with a lot of explaining to do to Clippers management, staff, coaches, his teammates, and fans after an ugly incident that took place in Toronto on January 23rd.  Griffin has been sent home by the team following a fight with Matias Testi, the team’s assistant equipment manager.  Reports from ESPN indicate that the two got into an argument in a Toronto restaurant. Griffin hit Testi, who left the restaurant and went outside. Griffin followed him outside and hit him again.

Toronto police say they have no record of a police report under Griffin’s name and are not investigating the incident. However the NBA does indicate that they are looking into it. Testi did not file any charges stemming from the assault, despite having multiple visible injuries to his face.

Griffin has been out with a quadriceps injury, but was expected to return to the lineup shortly. He will reportedly be sidelined for at least 4-6 weeks with the hand injury.  Thats without getting into any possible team or league imposed discipline for the incident.

Since he’s been out of the lineup, the Clippers have won 11 of 14 games, and it seems that his absence is not sorely missed by the team.

This is not the first time Griffin has been in a fight. He was charged with battery, after getting into a fight with a person in Las Vegas, after Griffin was upset with the individual taking photos inside of a club. The big question remains whether Griffin has a short fuse with people, friends, or team members, or is this part of a bigger issue with his demeanor. The two incidents have taken place outside of him being on the court. One in Vegas, and one in and restaurant.

Both Griffin and the Clippers have some soul searching to do. It’s one thing to get into someone’s fave on the court, even though fighting is not always the best answer, but these two incidents, two years apart may be something bigger and needs addressing sooner rather than later. Despite the current injury, and it may be frustration on Griffin’s part, that doesn’t excuse his behavior, especially on a member of the organization. Questions also can be raised as to what role, if any, alcohol may have played in the incident.

Other questions that linger here are where were his teammates or coaches at the time of the alleged incident?

Griffin seems quiet enough to most who watch him on a daily basis, but this is troubling at the very least. We all hope that the team takes necessary steps to find out what exactly happened, and if Blake needs help, then the Clippers owe it to themselves, the team, and their fans to act accordingly. The Clippers have had enough negative headlines the last few seasons, without another black eye. Addressing it quickly will do a great deal in stemming speculation of something that may or may not be true. We hope that’s the case.

 

The following is the Clippers official press release.

L.A. Clippers Statement on Blake Griffin

The following is a joint statement from L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Doc Rivers:

L.A. Clippers forward Blake Griffin suffered a spiral fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand throwing a punch on Jan. 23 in Toronto.

This conduct has no place in our organization and this incident does not represent who we are as a team. We are conducting a full investigation with assistance from the NBA. At the conclusion of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken.

Griffin received X-rays on Jan. 25th in Los Angeles that revealed the injury and he underwent a procedure on his hand Tuesday morning. The procedure was performed by Dr. Steve Shin. Recovery time from the injury is approximately four to six weeks.