NBA Links Michael Beasley To Transgressions At Rookie Seminar
Miami Heat first-round draft choice Michael Beasley was fined $50,000 Thursday by the NBA for foul behavior at a recent league symposium as well as a flagrant disregard toward the ensuing investigation.
Beasley was slammed with the penalty for violating rules at the early-September Rookie Transition Program in Rye Brook, N.Y., and for “failure to cooperate with a league investigation of the matter.”
The league said the fine was related to the previously disclosed incident at the rookie seminar involving Heat point guard Mario Chalmers and Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur.
Those two were fined $20,000 apiece earlier this month for allowing improper guests into a hotel room utilized for the seminar. In addition, the scent of marijuana was also present in that hotel room, although no residue or paraphernalia was found and both players denied involvement. The league did not address the marijuana issue in expelling Chalmers and Arthur from the four-day program.
Chalmers and Arthur will be required to attend next year’s rookie symposium. As was the case with Chalmers and Arthur, the league said Beasley does not face a suspension. Beasley will not be required to re-attend the four-day program.
Beasley was allowed to remain at the seminar, even though initial reports had linked him to the incident. The league then closed its investigation without sanctions against the former Kansas State forward, having received a denial of involvement from the No. 2 selection in the June draft.
However, in the intervening period, Heat President Pat Riley said Beasley owned up to his presence at the hotel room in question.
In a statement issued by the Heat shortly after the NBA announcement, Riley said, “While we are disappointed with Michael’s involvement, we are pleased that he chose to come forward and stand with his teammate and accept the consequences of his actions.”
A source familiar with the NBA investigation said the matter was reopened when word of Beasley’s involvement resurfaced in recent days. The league then sought additional statements from Chalmers and Arthur. It remained unclear Thursday night whether Beasley was pressed by Riley to acknowledge his presence.
“We are hopeful that both Michael and Mario have learned from this experience and we will have no further comment on the subject,” Riley said in his statement.
The days leading to the Heat’s Sept. 27 start of training camp at AmericanAirlines Arena have proven particularly troubling for Beasley, with the players’ association earlier this week confirming that Beasley has filed for a separation from agent Joel Bell.
By union rule, Beasley cannot hire replacement representation until Sept. 25, after a 15-day cooling period from the dismissal of Bell. While Beasley could appeal the fine directly to the National Basketball Players Association, such action is not expected.
First-year coach Erik Spoelstra said the team is working on easing the transition of the 19-year-old into the league.
“We’ve been talking about that all summer and we will continue to put it into place,” Spoelstra said before Thursday’s fine was announced.
The addition of Beasley is among the reasons the Heat is expected to make a significant improvement from last season’s league-worst 15-67 record.
“We’re going to give him as much as we can about what it means to be a professional,” Spoelstra said, “from our staff, from the players that he’s around, from the discipline and structure of what’s expected of him.”
- Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel
