Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Big Ticket

Many stars who had previously been elbowed by Malone stood up and gave media interviews, the most notable of which was Thomas, the Smiling Assassin. He appeared visibly angry during the interview and even swore: "A scum, FK! Karl Malone is a murderer. He got what was coming to him last night. I have to thank the rookie Zhao Dong, he's a man of justice..."

Barkley also spoke out in an interview: "I don't like the rookie Knicks, but this time, I think he did the right thing. Someone had to stand up to stop the postman's unscrupulousness. Otherwise, one day, he'll be putting sharp knives on his elbows and killing his opponents right on the court."

Jordan also gave his thoughts: "I think the league should impose stricter penalties on such foul actions that aim to hurt the opponent, even disregarding the opponent's life..."

At this time, Karl Malone had just woken up after being unconscious for ten hours. The hospital's diagnosis revealed three fractures in his right forearm, a broken nasal bone, and multiple skin injuries on his face. While these injuries were not critical, the most concerning was the result of Zhao Dong's last kick. In addition to trauma, it caused blunt force trauma to the skull, a moderate concussion, and temporary deafness in his left ear. He would need at least two months of rest to recover. Furthermore, there was also a bone fracture in his chest from the elbow Zhao Dong had delivered.

To prevent him from acting out aggressively, at the Jazz's request, the doctor administered a small dose of sedatives to control his emotions. However, the sedatives didn't seem to have much effect, and Malone remained agitated.

"He's going to kill me, he's going to kill me, I know he just wants to kill me, this can't be left like this..." Malone yelled at Jerry Sloan and several managers.

"Calm down, Carl," Jerry Sloan said, trying to soothe Malone's emotions. "The team is under a lot of pressure right now, and your elbow attack was... well, we need to communicate with the league and the Knicks to calm things down. Your cooperation is needed."

"What do you want me to cooperate with, Jerry?" Malone responded angrily. "Let me just swallow this? Are you kidding? That bastard Zhao Dong, he only sneaks up on me... I'll never let him go! I want to fight him in the ring!"

Jerry Sloan shook his head helplessly, regretting that the doctor didn't administer stronger sedatives. He placed a stack of newspapers in Malone's hand and said, "You need to read the news first. We're under a lot of pressure."

Malone flipped through the newspapers and then realized the gravity of the situation. It wasn't just the sports media attacking him—almost all the media were criticizing him, and public opinion was turning violently against him.

"The Knicks management must have played a part in this," Malone muttered. "They're in New York, we're in Utah, and we have no way to fight back."

Chapter 71: Big Ticket

Jerry Sloan said helplessly, "If this isn't handled carefully, Carl, it could even affect your career." After realizing the seriousness of the situation, Malone was forced to calm down under immense pressure. Regardless of the Jazz's situation, the pressure on the league officials was no less than that on the Jazz and Malone. Stern received the report about the incident last night, had a rough night's sleep, and rushed to the headquarters in the morning to hold a meeting on how to handle the violent incident.

"The root cause of this situation actually began off the court before the game. The Knicks and the Jazz had a fight before they played..." League vice president Lanier Prova introduced the situation and concluded, "In the final analysis, Karl Malone and Zhao Dong had a conflict, which led to defensiveness on the court and eventually to the elbowing in the back of the head and the violence."

Stern asked, "So, Lanier, how do you think this should be handled?"

Lanier Prova responded, "Mr. Stern, public opinion is very strong right now, and many media outlets are urging us to hold a press conference. I think we should be strict."

"Strict in what way?" Stern asked briefly. From this question, Prova understood Stern's stance. Stern was leaning toward giving a severe punishment. The question was: Should it be directed at Zhao Dong or Malone? Given that the media was attacking Malone, the conclusion seemed obvious.

An hour later, NBA league officials held a press conference at their New York headquarters to address the violent incident from last night and outline the follow-up punishments. Stern personally attended the conference.

"I apologize, the league cannot tolerate such behavior as elbowing in the back of the head, and this is absolutely not allowed... Of course, we will not condone other forms of court violence..." Stern stated.

In the end, Karl Malone received a hefty punishment: a fine of $500,000 and a suspension for 2-months. This was the largest personal fine in history, both in terms of the number of games banned and the amount of the fine. The Jazz were fined $100.000, and the Knicks were fined $50,000. Zhao Dong also received his first career fine: a five-game suspension and a fine of $[X].

"Zhao Dong, you bastard! I won't let you get away with this..." After receiving the news, Malone, lying in his hospital bed, shouted wildly, causing his head pain to worsen. He quickly called for the doctor. A $500,000 fine, coupled with a two-month suspension, would cost him one-third of his annual salary, which was close to $1.70 million, totaling $2.20 million in losses. The financial impact was massive.

In addition to the money, his deterrence in the league had been severely damaged, and his reputation had taken an unprecedented hit, further fueling his anger. But what was even more serious was that he wouldn't return until mid-January, halfway through the season, which would seriously affect the Jazz's record. The team was currently ranked #[-] in the Western Conference. Even if they made it to the playoffs, their ranking would likely not be high. In the first round, they could face strong Western teams like the Mavericks, Supersonics, or Lakers, which would be a tough draw.

Moreover, after recovering from his injury for two months, it would take time for Malone to regain his full form. It was unclear what kind of condition he would be in when the playoffs arrived. All of this had been caused by that damn rookie from the Knicks. Thinking about these situations, Malone gritted his teeth in hatred.

(End of this chapter)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you want to read Advanced Chapters?

Visit this link:

 Påtreon.com/Fanficlord03