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NEW YORK In a brief statement responding to the NBA's suspension of Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat implied the Charlotte Bobcats somehow goaded Wade into kicking Bobcats guard Ramon Sessions in the groin.
The NBA suspended Wade for Friday's road game against the Detroit Pistons after video showed him kicking (the league used the term "flailing") at Sessions' groin during the Heat's victory in Charlotte.
The Heat's two-paragraph statement said the franchise didn't agree with the NBA's discipline. It continued that "unfortunately (Wade) is the type of player, along with other players on our roster, that defenses take privileges with."
This was an extension of what Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Friday morning, telling South Florida media, "there is an excess of hard fouls against our guys."
How that justified Wade kicking Sessions in the groin is unclear. Sessions said after the game he thought Wade's act was "on purpose" and he was surprised no foul was called as a result.
Sessions had little to say about the incident Friday. He hasn't received an apology from Wade, and said he was fine with that.
Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap addressed the issue more directly. He said he likes that Spoelstra perceives the Bobcats as physical. He also complimented Wade for his many accomplishments and character. But he made it clear the league had to invoke punishment.
"The competitive juices got the better (of Wade) ... but there's no place for that," Dunlap said.
"I thought they were going to do something. Obviously, from the film, they had to do something."
