In the history of the NBA ( National Basketball Association ) people have witnessed a lot of scenes of violence which were very hard to forget. The one that made spectators felt shocked and still becomes a controversy today is the hit of an LA Lakers player. This bad action made his opponent seriously injured and be in critical condition. The incident took place in the 1977-78 season which turned NBA into a big drama and made a great effect on its reputation.
Fans of this team recalled the moment on September, 12th in 1977 when the match between Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets was on the go. The conflict of two famous players known as Abdul – Jabbar of Lakers and Kevin Kunnert of Rockets has created a controversy among people who attended that match.
Rudy Tomjanovich – another member of Rockets wanted to resolve this contradiction, but he was unluckily touched by an opponent of Kermit Washington. Being attacked accidentally, he was injured seriously and had a bleeding wound. “ When his head hit the ground, spectators treated it as a lemon water that plumped strongly” – Abdul-Jabbar recalled that incident.
“ This was one of the most terrible accidents that I have ever witnessed before. The injury required a lot of time to recover and the player had to temporarily leave the field for at least six months.”- The surgeon of Tomjanovich remembered. After this conflict, the NBA decided that Kermit Washington wouldn’t be allowed to take part in the competition for 60 days. In addition to this, he had to pay a fine for about 10.000 dollars.
As a result of his bad behavior, Kermit Washington made his whole career become worse. After participating in the rest of the season, he broke up with Lakers and became a member of some other basketball teams. Throughout his life, he achieved a few individual prizes and the most outstanding one was 1980 All-star. In an interview, Washington said that he really wanted to become an official coach in NBA but his action prevented him from doing that. To fans of the NBA around the world, he was just a hot-tempered person and couldn’t control the sensation.
Washington and Tomjanovich now become good friends and they feel comfortable with each other. They have buried the hatches and everything goes as normal. However, fans of the NBA will never forget this terrible accident between two well-known players.