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2015 NBL Canada Finals brawl

2015 NBL Canada Finals brawl
2015 NBL Canada Finals Logo.jpg
Time 10:40 EST (2:40 UTC)
Date April 30, 2015
Venue NBL Canada
Location WFCU Centre
Coordinates 42°19′07″N 82°55′40″W / 42.3186°N 82.9279°W / 42.3186; -82.9279
Outcome Mass suspensions and fines.
Suspect(s)

The 2015 NBL Canada Finals brawl was an altercation that occurred prior to Game 7 of the year's National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) Finals, between the Windsor Express and Halifax Rainmen on April 30, 2015. It led to the Rainmen's forfeit of the deciding game and allowed the Express to win the championship by default. Windsor's guard Tony Bennett, who participated in the brawl, said, "It's a black eye not just for the league, but for basketball."

After the Rainmen reached the site of the game hours early and began warming up, they were discovered by Express assistant coach Gerry Brumpton. Windsor head coach Bill Jones later entered the room to retrieve a ball and violence erupted between him and Halifax center Liam McMorrow. This sparked a brawl between both the teams as a whole, causing police to arrive. The Rainmen eventually left the stadium and chose to not compete in Game 7 because of safety concerns.

The incident resulted in mass fines and several suspensions, most notably the lifetime ban of Rainmen coaches Josep Clarós and Pedro Monteiro from coaching in the NBL Canada. The league also fined the entire Halifax Rainmen organization, with charges totaling $90,000. Tony Bennett was the sole Express player to be fined and suspended. Many players, including Bennett, were reinstated into the league in the following season.

Both teams had previously appeared in the NBL Canada Finals, with the Windsor Express defeating the Island Storm in seven games in the previous season. The Halifax Rainmen appeared in the 2012 Finals, which was played in a best-of-five format, but dropped three games and lost to the London Lightning. Halifax finished the 2014–15 regular season as the Atlantic Division champions and had the second-best record in the league, behind only the Central Division winners, the Express. The Rainmen reached the 2015 finals via wins over the Moncton Miracles and Island Storm, 3–1 and 4–1 respectively; Windsor's route was through victories over Mississauga Power, by 3–1, and the Brampton A's, by 4–3.


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