In a significant new development, the Philadelphia 76ers have stopped fining Ben Simmons for missed practices and games.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported on Tuesday that Sixers have stopped fining Simmons for missing practices and/or games.
Simmons is currently away from the team for personal reasons, specifically to take care of his mental healthy. Philadelphia isn’t going to punish one of its players for such a cause.
“The Sixers have stopped fining Ben Simmons,” Shelburne said. “That was a big part of this, as you know ,the first couple weeks here when he was not showing up for games, when he did not report for camp. They’ve stopped fining him. Some of this is because of a standard provision in player contracts that say s if you’re dealing with a mental health issue, which Ben Simmons has reported to the team that he is … They’ve taken that in good faith.”
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This is a pretty significant new development in the Ben Simmons-Sixers saga.
It was previously believed Simmons would give in and play for Philly once he saw the total cost of fines he was receiving from the team. Now that the Sixers have let up on those fines and, in good faith, are allowing the young star to take some time away, Simmons may end up reconsidering his trade request.
No one knows when Simmons will return to the court and end up playing for the Sixers. But it’s probably reassuring for the young star that he won’t incur a high fine bill because of his absences.
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