Glen Rice Jr. ordered not to play by Australia’s NBL after arrest

FILE – Glen Rice Jr., left, protects the ball against Ginebra’s Joe Devance during a PBA game in 2017. PBA IMAGES

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Australia’s National Basketball League has ordered the New Zealand Breakers not to play former Washington Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. after his arrest Thursday morning over an altercation in an Auckland bar.

Rice traveled with the Breakers to Perth for their league match Sunday against the Wildcats, though it wasn’t clear that he would play. The NBL stepped in only an hour before tipoff with an edict that Rice should sit in the immediate aftermath of his arrest.

READ: Ex-PBA import arrested after NZ bar incident

“The NBL has directed the New Zealand Breakers to stand down Glen Rice Jr. from today’s game against the Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena following an incident in Auckland last Thursday,” the NBL said in a statement. “The incident has been referred to the Basketball Australia integrity unit to conduct an investigation. Rice Jnr. is not prevented from training or other club commitments.

“The NBL will monitor the outcome of the Basketball Australia investigation.”

The Breakers previously confirmed that Rice was arrested Thursday after a scuffle in an Auckland bar, only 10 days after joining the Breakers, who are four-time league champions.

“Glen alerted us to an incident the other night that he was out and got into a scuffle with some guys,” Breakers chief executive Matt Walsh told New Zealand media. “He told us and we’re aware of it. We’re trying to get information.

“Like anyone on the team we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, innocent until proven guilty.”

Rice joined the Breakers as an injury replacement for fellow American Brian “Scotty” Hopson. The 28-year-old is the son of three-time NBA All Star Glen Rice.

He attended Georgia Tech but was dismissed by coach Brian Gregory in 2012 after multiple suspensions, the last involving a shooting outside an Atlanta nightclub.

Rice was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 35th pick in the 2013 draft but later traded to Washington. He was waived by the Wizards in January 2015.