The Clippers announced Tuesday that Griffin will be sidelined four to six weeks because of the injury, which the team confirmed occurred when he threw a punch Saturday in Toronto.
Sources previously told ESPN's Michael Eaves that Griffin hit Matias Testi, the Clippers' assistant equipment manager.
"It's frustrating," Rivers said. "You don't want it to happen to anyone, and you obviously don't want it to happen during the season or even when the season is not going on. This type of stuff shouldn't happen, but it did, and it's real life, and you have to deal with real life sometimes in our make-believe world."
The Clippers were in Toronto as part of a five-game road trip. They played the Raptors the day after the incident, losing 112-94.
Sources told Eaves that Griffin and Testi were at a restaurant Saturday night when they traded insults and got into an argument. Griffin hit Testi, who then left the restaurant and went outside. Griffin followed him outside and hit him again. Testi had visible injuries to his face, sources told Eaves.
Both Griffin and Testi were sent home from the road trip after the incident. The two are good friends and had vacationed together, sources said.
"This conduct has no place in our organization and this incident does not represent who we are as a team," Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Rivers said in a joint statement earlier Tuesday that did not detail what happened. "We are conducting a full investigation with assistance from the NBA. At the conclusion of the investigation, appropriate action will be taken."
The Clippers said Griffin had X-rays on the hand Monday in Los Angeles and underwent a procedure to repair "a spiral fracture of the fourth metacarpal" Tuesday. The procedure was performed by Dr. Steve Shin.
"I'm not satisfied with anything," Rivers said. "I'm talking about a non-basketball issue right now. No, I'm not satisfied with anything right now ... For them, we have a responsibility once we decide to play in this league to conduct ourselves in a certain way, and that's something we talked to them about (Monday). We represent the Clippers, and we have to continue to do that. Everything that happens, obviously, you try to turn into a teaching lesson for your players."
Griffin has been out with a quadriceps injury, which he suffered in the Clippers' Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers, but he had hoped to return to the lineup during this road trip. Rivers said he believes the additional four-to-six-week timetable for the hand injury is unrealistic.
"I always say four to six weeks for a broken hand is unrealistic," he said. "I'll tell you that, just my opinion. We don't talk about injuries for guys who aren't playing. We just don't."
The Clippers entered Tuesday night's game at Indiana in fourth place in the Western Conference. They have gone 11-3 in Griffin's absence.
"We have to figure it out (in Griffin's absence) because we're in a tough conference, and we've kind of clawed our way up to the spot that we're at now, and now we have to keep clawing," Rivers said.
Griffin's latest injury means he will miss the All-Star Game on Feb. 14 in Toronto, where he could have been picked as a reserve.
In November 2014, Griffin was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery after allegedly getting into an altercation with a man at a Las Vegas nightclub. According to reports at the time of the incident, Griffin was upset by camera flashes in his face and grabbed the man's phone. Prosecutors dropped the case in March of last year, saying they couldn't prove the allegations.
No comments:
Post a Comment