Halifax Rainmen coaches and players speak out following championship forfeit
Posted May 3, 2015 10:08:38 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – Coaches and players of the Halifax Rainmen basketball team are defending their decision not to play in the final game of their league championship.
The team forfeited the National Basketball League of Canada championship when it failed to show up for game 7 against the Windsor Express on Thursday, following a fight between the teams earlier in the day.
At a press conference in Halifax on Saturday, players said they felt targeted and threatened by the Windsor team and made the decision not to play in consultation with team owner Andre Levingston.
But player Forrest Fisher says since that decision was made on Thursday, he and his teammates have felt abandoned by the Rainmen ownership.
Fisher says players returned to Halifax to find they had been kicked out of their apartments and have not received their latest paycheques.
Eleven players on the team face fines and indefinite suspensions, while the coach and assistant coach have been fined and permanently banned from coaching in the league.
