Ex-PBA import Glen Rice Jr. cut from Israeli team for assaulting teammate

Glen Rice Jr. PBA IMAGES

JERUSALEM — Israel’s top basketball team has cut its star player Glen Rice Jr. after he punched a teammate in the face.

Hapoel Holon says it released Rice after the team’s Monday night loss because of a “severe disciplinary infraction.” It says Rice punched teammate Guy Pnini in the face in the locker room. Pnini was hospitalized with a suspected facial fracture.

READ: Rice fined $10K by TNT for ‘undesirable’ behavior 

The 27-year-old Rice, whose father is three-time NBA all-star Glen Rice, is the Israeli league’s top scorer, averaging more than 24 points a game, and has led Holon to the top of the standings.

He also won a state cup thanks to a last-second winning shot against powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv. Rice, who briefly played in the NBA, was previously arrested in the United States on battery and robbery charges.

READ: Ferrer on Rice ejection: ‘I didn’t do anything’

Rice also ended his stint in the PBA on a sour note. He was kicked out of TNT for his “undesirable behavior” in Game 4 of the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals, where the KaTropa lost to Ginebra.

His outburst cost him more $10,000 (P500,000) in fines from both the league and the TNT management, which said Rice’s behavior tainted the team’s “wholesome image.” With report from Celest Flores-Colina