Why Miami Heat Suspended Dewayne Dedmon for Off-Court Incident

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

Miami Heat have suspended center Dewayne Dedmon for one game after his outburst during Tuesday night's victory over Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dedmon, 33, took exception to being substituted and appeared to throw a massage gun on to the court. He was then ejected from the game.

Late on Wednesday, the Heat issued a statement on Twitter saying Dedmon would miss another game, without pay.

The team tweeted: "The Miami Heat have, in consultation with the NBA, suspended Dewayne Dedmon for one game without pay for conduct detrimental to the team for actions that took place in the bench area of last night's game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder."

Dewayne Dedmon
Dewayne Dedmon #21 of the Miami Heat reacts as he is ejected from the game during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 10. Getty Images

After being substituted against Oklahoma City, Dedmon had a heated discussion with the coaches before throwing an object onto the court. An ESPN clip posted on YouTube identified the item as a massage gun.

Dedmon was then ejected and was visibly angry as he made his way to the locker room.

His conduct has not impressed Heat fans, who took to Twitter in droves to post replies to the team's statement.

One tweeted: "I would give him a max contract never to play again."

Another posted: "Can we just trade bruh already, even if it's for free."

A third posted: "Can we suspend him another 40 games or so, and the entire playoffs if we make it?"

Dewayne Dedmon
Dewayne Dedmon #21 of the Miami Heat looks on during the second half of the game against San Antonio Spurs at FTX Arena on December 10, 2022. Getty Images

After the game, which the Heat edged 112-111, coach Erik Spoelstra said: "That's the Miami Heat. We're all a bunch of gnarly personalities. That part was unfortunate. Everything before that, that's the Miami Heat. That part was unacceptable."

He later told TNT: "It's a regular Tuesday night with the Miami Heat. We're in a one-point game and we had some skirmishes on the bench."

Skirmishes on the bench have been a theme in the NBA over the past few weeks. On December 28, a fight broke out between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic—and swiftly went viral.

The Pistons have gained a reputation as always ready to get physical. This time, though, it wasn't the aggression of the Pistons that kicked off the scuffle but a foul by the Magic.

Detroit Pistons
Moritz Wagner #21 of the Orlando Magic handles the ball against Killian Hayes #7 of the Detroit Pistons during the first quarter at Little Caesars Arena on December 28, 2022 Getty Images

The incident began with the Magic on the attack. An errant pass led forward Moe Wagner to go scrambling back towards his own half with Pistons guard Killian Hayes in pursuit.

Wagner shoved the Pistons star into their bench when it looked like Hayes might get to the loose ball first. Hayes jumped up to land a right-handed punch to the back of Wagner's head, which propelled him forward into the bench.

Within seconds, players and coaches from both sides were squaring up near the Detroit bench.

The officials had to wait for order to return before they could take action. Wagner and Hayes were then ejected from the game.

Do you have a tip on a sports story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the NBA? Let us know via entertainment@newsweek.com.

About the writer