TNT Import Ivan Johnson. PBA IMAGES
A day after being handed a lifetime ban from the PBA, TNT import Ivan Johnson expressed his gratitude towards the team and the league on Sunday.
In a Facebook post, the temperamental import also apologized for his actions which led to the swift ban from the PBA Commissioner’s Office.
READ: PBA: TNT wants due process on Johnson ban
“I would like to thank all of my fans for the support you have shown my family and I. Your tremendous love and dedication is and will always be greatly appreciated. I am truly sorry for the role I played in the events of last night’s game and the devastation and disappointment I have caused all of you. Again, thanks for the support, it is greatly noticed and appreciated.”
Johnson was banned for life and was fined P250,000 on Saturday for “addressing the Commissioner with profanities and showing utter disrespect for authority” after being ejected midway in the second quarter of TNT’s 88-84 defeat to Meralco.
READ: TNT import Johnson banned from PBA for ‘utter disrespect’
The 31-year-old big man becomes the second reinforcement to be banned for life from the PBA, following Renaldo Balkman who choked Petron teammate Arwind Santos back in 2013.
The PBA also became the second league to hand down the lifetime ban on Johnson, who was handed the same penalty in the Korean Basketball League (KBL).
In a separate post, Johnson, who had thrown profanities towards Chito Narvasa shortly after the ejection, apologized to the PBA and commissioner for his actions.
READ: Johnson tweets after PBA ban: ‘Devil is working overtime’
“Thank you to the PBA & Commissioner Narvasa for giving me the opportunity to play in the Commissioner’s Cup. It meant the world to me to be able to bring my family with me so we could experience all of this together,” he said.
“This lifetime ban is truly unfortunate and devastating to me being that I feel at home and most welcomed when I am here playing in the Philippines. I do want to sincerely and most humbly apologize to Commissioner Narvasa for my actions in last night’s game. I ask that you forgive me. Thank you.”