Heat’s Caleb Martin remorseful after on-court altercation: ‘I felt bad that it happened’
In the wake of Saturday night’s skirmish, Miami Heat starting forward Caleb Martin is accepting of his one-game suspension without pay that was issued by the NBA on Sunday.
“I definitely expected something like that to that degree,” Martin said Monday following the Heat’s morning shootaround session. “I knew they were going to look through something and find out the proper consequences, and I definitely don’t disagree with it.”
Martin will serve his one-game suspension when the Heat hosts the Toronto Raptors for a second straight game on Monday night. Heat rookie forward Nikola Jovic will also serve his one-game suspension without pay on Monday for leaving the team’s bench and entering Saturday’s altercation.
“I was expecting it with both of them and we don’t have any issues with how the league viewed it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the suspensions. “It’s a teaching moment.”
What exactly happened that led to the suspensions? The NBA ruled that Martin deserved a one-game suspension “for instigating an on-court altercation by taunting Toronto Raptors center Christian Koloko and then tackling him into the spectator stands” with 7:46 remaining in the third quarter of the Heat’s 112-109 win over the Raptors on Saturday night at FTX Arena.
“I felt bad that it happened,” Martin said. “I was embarrassed Saturday night, I was embarrassed the next morning about how I handled things because I pride myself on being more professional than that. Anybody who plays sports understands that emotions get high, especially at the highest level. Sometimes it boils over. It’s not the first incident like that in basketball history. But those are things I try to make sure I avoid.”
Martin was immediately remorseful following the altercation, sending a text to Koloko on Saturday night and continuing the conversation on Sunday morning.
“I got to deal with the consequences,” Martin continued. “I reached out to him last night. I talked to him Saturday night and yesterday morning. Just letting him know I apologize and that’s not the way I carry myself and I don’t condone that type of stuff. Obviously, he was cool about it. We talked about it and he understands. He doesn’t hold anything against me. So as long as me and him are good and he understands where I’m coming from, I’m good.”
The incident started when Martin and Koloko became entangled while battling for a rebound. Koloko fell to the court, and Martin was called for a loose ball foul.
As Koloko was falling back, he seemed to inadvertently swipe Martin in the back of the head.
Martin, who was visibly angry, stood with his fists clenched over Koloko, who then stood up and wrapped his arms around Martin before Martin slammed Koloko into the first row of spectator seats behind the basket just a few feet from the Heat’s bench.
Players and coaches from both teams sprinted over in an effort to break up the fight, and Martin and Koloko were ultimately separated. The officials reviewed the incident and called technical fouls on Martin and Koloko, and both players were ejected from Saturday’s game.
Martin said his moment of anger was “the end of an accumulation of a couple things that happened before that.”
“Toward the end when that happened, it was more that there was an elbow and an arm shoved in my back toward my neck,” Martin said. “... That was just kind of the boiling point, I guess. I think I watched one of his interviews and I didn’t even realize I approached him like that. That’s 1,000 percent on me. I think my momentum took me toward him. Obviously being upset, I didn’t realize the placement where I was on the floor. But I got to take full accountability of the way I act and being the initiator and aggressor on that. I would have done the same thing if I was him. I would have stood up for myself too, so I don’t fault him for doing what he had to do, too.”
Martin added that he didn’t know Koloko was a rookie until afterwards and that made him feel even worse about the sequence of events.
“I remember being a rookie and scratching and clawing for playing time, too,” Martin said. “You’re going to do whatever it takes even if you got to climb on somebody’s back. Whatever the case may be, you’re going to try to earn playing time. So I don’t fault him at all for the way he was playing. That’s just their culture and I respect that.”
As for Jovic, he said he was a bit “surprised” to learn of his one-game suspension. As a 19-year-old rookie who is still adjusting to life in the United States after growing up in Serbia, he wasn’t fully aware of the NBA rule that calls for a suspension of at least one game if players not participating in the game leave the immediate vicinity of their bench during an altercation.
“I didn’t know because everything happened near the bench,” Jovic said. “So my reflex was to come out and help my teammate and get people to just move away from him and stuff. It just happened. ... I felt like they were right in front of me and I tried to help my friend, and that’s all that happened.”
Martin’s one-game suspension without pay will cost him about $45,000 and Jovic’s one-game suspension without pay will cost him about $15,000. Koloko was not suspended by the NBA for his role in Saturday’s night brawl, but he was fined by the league $15,000 “for grabbing Martin during the altercation.”
Martin made it known to both Koloko and Jovic that he owes them dinner for costing them money.
“I’m coming out of pocket a lot right now,” Martin said with a smile.
HEAT MAKES BROADCAST HIRE
The Heat announced on Monday the hire of Amy Audibert as its new radio analyst and television studio analyst. She replaces Ruth Riley Hunter, who stepped away from broadcasting this past summer after taking a bigger role in the Heat’s front office as the senior director of team development.
Audibert most recently served as a courtside reporter and analyst for the Raptors on Sportsnet. She also has ties to South Florida, spending four years on the women’s basketball team at the University of Miami from 2003 to 2007.
“I am absolutely thrilled to join the Miami Heat,” Audibert said in a statement. “After already fulfilling a basketball dream in suiting up for the Miami Hurricanes, returning to Miami to cover the game that I love so much at the highest level is truly a full circle story. I am so excited to continue a career with an organization that is committed to the excellence required to be a championship contender each year!”
Audibert, who is a Niagara Falls, Ontario, native, will make her Heat debut on Monday’s pregame show on Bally Sports Sun ahead of the Heat’s matchup against the Raptors. She will then join Jason Jackson for the radio broadcast of the game on WQAM.
Audibert will work all home radio games. She will also appear on Bally Sports Sun pregame and postgame shows with Jackson for home games and then join Will Manso as the studio analyst for the Bally Sports Sun pre, half and postgame shows for road games.
“Amy Audibert is an emerging broadcast talent with roots here in Miami. Her extensive knowledge of the game and the excitement with which she conveys her stories will be something Heat fans will quickly come to appreciate and enjoy,” Heat Vice President and Executive Director of Broadcasting Ted Ballard said in a statement. “We look forward to adding yet another exceptionally versatile and skilled broadcaster to what has become an extremely deep pool of talent on all of our platforms.”
▪ Along with not having Jovic or Martin available as they serve their one-game suspensions, the Heat also remains without Victor Oladipo (knee) and Omer Yurtseven (ankle) on Monday against the Raptors. That leaves the Heat with just 12 available players for the game.
This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 1:03 PM.
