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American basketball player gets kicked off Austrian team for brutal sucker punch
It was a play that had all the makings to cause an on-court skirmish: A lopsided game getting even more out-of-hand on a dunk that involved a bit of showboating. Only, there wound up being no fight, but rather, an assault.
The brutal retaliation took place in an Austrian pro league contest on Tuesday and involved an American player named David Samuels. Presumably frustrated by getting dunked on while his team was getting its butt kicked, Samuels connected a sucker punch to the back of Erwin Zulic's head, causing him to drop to the floor in a heap. Here's the chilling clip that makes the punches thrown in that Lakers-Rockets brawl look tame by comparison:
Incredibly, Zulic gets to his feet quickly considering the death blow he absorbed. However, he had to be helped off the court and will probably never even think about hanging on the rim again.
As for Samuels, who played collegiately at Long Beach State, forget about a suspension. He was promptly kicked off the Kapfenberg Bulls squad for the savage sucker punch.
“The player has to suffer the consequences for his actions, there’s no leeway and nothing to wait for.” Bulls GM Oliver Freund told The Sun. “In our organization and in sports in general, there is no room for that. We’ve also immediately communicated that to the player — tomorrow he will board a trip home.”
Good for the Bulls. There's absolutely no room for that kind of behavior. Plus, Samuels needs to work on boxing out. You just can't give up a dunk that easy on a missed free throw.