Houston Rockets forward Montrezl Harrell has been suspended five games without pay by the NBA Developmental League after he shoved an official to the ground on Saturday.
His suspension will keep him out of the final three regular season games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and he can’t be recalled back by the Rockets until he fulfills his suspension. He’ll have to sit out the Vipers’ first two D-league playoff games as well.
Harrell got into a shoving match with Bakersfield Jam player Derek Cooke Jr, who earned a one-game suspension for pushing the Rockets’ rookie. When referee Jason Goldenburg tried to intervene, Harrell shoved him to the ground.
The National Basketball Referees Association had called for Harrell to be suspended multiple games.
“After carefully reviewing videotape and related evidence concerning this incident, we have reached the inescapable conclusion that Harrell committed a deliberate assault and battery against Referee Goldenberg. Anything less than a multiple game suspension would constitute a green light for violence against officials,” Lee Seham, the NBRA general counsel said in a statement.
Harrell — the former University of Louisville standout and 32nd overall pick in the 2015 draft — has appeared in 38 games for the Rockets this season, averaging 3.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 9.8 minutes while shooting 65.9% from the floor. In 12 games with the Vipers, he has averaged 24.2 points on 53.3% shooting, as well as 9.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 38.9 minutes.
