Stern: Ejection was 'good call' for foul on James
Washington's Haywood tossed from Game 2 but not suspended
 Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Cleveland's LeBron James is fouled hard by Washington's Brendan Haywood in Game 2 on Monday. |
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WASHINGTON - NBA commissioner David Stern said he agreed with the decision to eject Brendan Haywood for a hard foul on LeBron James in Game 2 of the first-round playoff series between the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers.
“It was a good call,” Stern said Thursday night before Game 3. “He didn’t make a play on the ball. At least in the 1,700 replays that I saw.”
Haywood pushed James with both hands while the Cavaliers All-Star was in the air for a layup in the third quarter of Monday’s 116-86 Cleveland victory. James crashed to the floor but was not injured.
Haywood was not suspended for the foul, a decision Stern said he left to league disciplinarian Stu Jackson.
The Wizards have repeatedly said that James has been getting preferential treatment because of his superstar status, but Stern said a study by Dallas owner Mark Cuban appears to show otherwise.
“We know it’s not a star-preferenced system,” Stern said.
Stern also referenced the troubled Seattle SuperSonics, who have been granted permission by the league’s Board of Governors to move to Oklahoma City. The move has been tied up by a lawsuit over the team’s lease at KeyArena.
“I wish it weren’t in litigation,” Stern said. “But we’re prepared to abide by the litigation. I think that eventually whether it’s now or two years from now, the Seattle Sonics will be in Oklahoma City.”
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