In this screengrab, former Knicks forward Renaldo Balkman chokes one of his Petron Blaze Boosters teammates during a scuffle on Friday.
Former Knicks first round pick Renaldo Balkman went ballistic in a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) game Friday, brushing referees, shoving an assistant coach and a teammate before choking another teammate while playing for the Petron Blaze Boosters and Monday received a liftime ban and the largest fine in the league's history.
The former Knicks and Denver Nuggets forward was unhappy about a non-foul near the end of the Boosters' loss to Alaska. He went over to speak to an official then appeared to be demonstrating how he thought he was fouled, making plenty of contact. When Petron assistant coach Biboy Ravanes tried to refocus Balkman, he was shoved back toward the bench.
A technical foul was called. Balkman stalked across the court and went for a third official and that's when teammates intervened. Boosters guard Ronald Tubin grabbed Balkman only to be shoved away then forward Arwind Santos - who has a little more height and weight to him - tried to restrain Balkman.
Balkman shoved Santos, Santos shoved back and Balkman went for Santos' neck with his right hand, briefly choking his teammate to the horror of the announcers and pretty much everyone on the court and in the stadium.
The 6-8 forward tweeted several apologies to Santos and the Petron Blaze Boosters saying the incident was in the heat of an intense game and he was proud to be a part of the Petron Blaze "fam" form his account @R_Balkman32, but it did little good. Balkman received a lifetime ban from the PBA and a fine of 250,000 pesos, roughly $6,000 American dollars.
Balkman, born on Staten Island but raised in North Carolina, played college ball at the University of South Carolina. He was selected by the Knicks 20th overall in the 2006 NBA draft by then-president Isiah Thomas. He was dealt to the Nuggets in 2008 for a second round pick but returned to the Knicks as part of the Carmelo Anthony trade in 2011.
