Sacramento Kings of America forward, Chimezie Metu has been suspended by USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) after getting into a brawl with another Nigerian-born player, Eugene Omoruyi, megasportsarena.com reports.
The uncanny altercation between both players of Nigerian descent during a summer league tie left many onlookers mouth agape, especially after Metu went on to throw a throwing a punch at Omoruyi of Dallas Mavericks during Sunday’s game.
Consequently, Metu will miss Tuesday’s summer championship game against Boston Celtics, following his indictment for the ugly scenes that followed a wild dunk attempt that led to the start of violence between The Kings and The Mavs on Sunday.
Tension was let loose in the third quarter, when Metu tried to throw it down on Omoruyi, who, rather than risk being put on a poster, responded with a hard foul that included a shove, thereby knocking the opposing player off balance and to the floor.
Metu responded viciously after getting up, as he threw a hard right hook at The Mavs’ rookie, which a ringside announced tagged ‘going for his soul,’ and an official review of the incident led to an ejection for both players.
Omoruyi was expelled on a flagrant two and Metu for a punching foul, which are both automatic ejections under NBA rules, thereby limiting their respective impacts in the game that The Kings eventually won 86-70.
Before his expulsion, Omoruyi had been playing in only his fourth NBA game after signing a two-way contract with Mavericks as an undrafted free agent, with a massive step forward for the youngster, who averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 37.6 percent from deep in his senior year at Oregon University.
On his part, Metu is entering his fourth NBA season and second with Kings, with which he averaged four points per game in 83 career regular-season games.
Metu unleashed a wild right handed haymaker that appeared to connect with his opponent’s face, as he reacted violently to Omoruyi’s aggressive foul on him as he went for a dunk attempt.
The punitive measures now mean Metu will serve his suspension on Tuesday as Kings attempt to win the Las Vegas Summer League against The Celtics.
On the other hand, though 24-year-old Omoruyi was adjudged guilty of a Flagrant Foul 2 for his mid-air shove of Metu, he was not suspended for his actions and will hope to continue excelling with The Mavs before training camp begins later this fall.
The NBA notice published by ESPN stated: “Mavs forward Eugene Omoruyi (flagrant 2) and Kings forward Chimezie Metu (punching foul) were both ejected after this play: “
A report by Larry Brown Sports further noted that 24-year-old Metu, who was a second-round pick by San Antonio Spurs in 2018 but later signed with The Kings, for whom he averaged 6.3 points in 13.6 minutes per game last season, could have ignited his extreme reaction due to an injury he sustained after a similar tussle in February.
The Kings’ Summer League head coach, Bobby Jackson called the incident a learning experience for Metu and assured that the team will continue to support the player like any good organization would.
A report by TMZ Sport added: “Metu was so pissed after being fouled during a summer league game Sunday … he threw a wild punch that connected with his opponent’s forehead.
“The fight all went down in Sacramento’s game against the Dallas Mavericks in Vegas … when Eugene Omoruyi collided with Metu while the Kings player was going up for a dunk attempt.
“In the broadcast footage from the arena, you can see Metu was so upset after being knocked into … he cocked back his right hand and violently punched Omoruyi in the face.
“Cameras showed the haymaker — albeit with a lot of Metu’s elbow — landed flush … but, fortunately for both parties, the two were separated before any more fists could fly.
“Metu and Omoruyi were eventually ejected from the tilt … and you can see in the clip, Omoruyi was actually in a bit of pain after getting hit.
“Mavs summer coach Greg St. Jean told reporters after the game he expected Omoruyi to be just fine. (But it is) unclear if either Metu or Omoruyi will be suspended from summer league action going forward.”
