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1-match ban for Yi over shoe protest
GUANGDONG Southern Tigers’ Yi Jianlian was given a one-match ban for taking off his shoes in protest at the Chinese Basketball Association’s limitation on shoe choice during their league game against Shenzhen Leopards on Wednesday. The club was also fined 50,000 yuan (US$7,394).
Yi, recently waived by the Los Angeles Lakers, was playing for Guangdong in the second round of CBA games of the new season. According to CBA’s deal with sportswear sponsor Li-Ning, domestic players have to wear Li-Ning branded shoes on court. Yi, who has a deal with Nike, had been allowed to skip the rule last year. That privilege was cancelled starting from this season.
Yi followed the regulation on Wednesday, starting the match in sponsor’s shoes. However, one minute into the second quarter, the giant center suddenly took off his shoes, leaving them on the court and asked for a substitution. Later in the second quarter, Yi changed into shoes of the competitor’s brand and wanted to return to the match but was refused by the referee.
Yi was allowed on court in the middle of the third quarter but he was still wearing the replacement shoes. He scored 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist over a total of 24 minutes as Guangdong lost 88-89 for a second straight defeat.
“I tried (the sponsor’s shoes) before the match, but didn’t feel very comfortable and could not make big movements,” Yi said after the match. “I also felt pain in the feet after some running.”
Yi said he encountered Achilles tendon inflammation back in 2010 due to a wrong choice of shoes.
Club general manager Hu Zhiqiang said the club had applied to the CBA before the match to allow Yi to wear his own shoes, which was rejected.
Yi apologized for “improper manners” through his Weibo account yesterday morning.
“I lost control of my mood due to pain in the foot and reacted improperly on the court, which caused a negative influence,” he wrote, adding: “I am deeply sorry for it. I am willing to accept any punishment”.
The CBA issued the one-match ban and fined the club later in the day. Yi will miss Guangdong’s home match against the Jilin Northeast Tigers.
Just hours before Yi’s shoe conflict, the CBA issued warnings to four players over rule violations involving the sponsor’s kit — Xinjiang Flying Tigers’ Zhou Qi, Li Gen and Dyranbek as well as Fujian Sturgeons’ Wang Zhelin.
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