"I was embarrassed": Heat's Martin apologizes to Raptors' Koloko after skirmish
Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin has officially apologized to Toronto Raptors rookie Christian Koloko after a high-profile dustup over the weekend.
During Saturday’s Miami-Toronto contest, both Martin and Koloko were ejected from the game following an incident behind the basket. Martin approached Koloko, who was on the ground before the two became entangled with one another and ended up taking the beef into the first few rows of the crowd.
Caleb Martin and Christian Koloko got into it during Raptors-Heat. pic.twitter.com/c5YbdanKpr
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 23, 2022
Martin was suspended one game on Sunday for the incident, as was Heat rookie Nikola Jovic. Meanwhile, Koloko picked up a $15,000 fine.
But it appears that Martin has apologized to Koloko for playing the instigator role.
“I got to deal with the consequences,” Martin said Monday, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I reached out to him last night. I talked to him Saturday night and yesterday morning. Just letting him know I apologize and that’s not the way I carry myself and I don’t condone that type of stuff. Obviously, he was cool about it. We talked about it and he understands. He doesn’t hold anything against me. So as long as me and him are good and he understands where I’m coming from, I’m good.”
Koloko didn’t really seem to understand what led to the altercation.
“I was as confused as you,” Koloko said Saturday. “I don’t know. I have no idea… He was looking at me aggressively, so I just stood up for myself.”
Martin seemed to be taking the suspension in stride.
“I felt bad that it happened,” Martin added. “I was embarrassed Saturday night, I was embarrassed the next morning about how I handled things because I pride myself on being more professional than that. Anybody who plays sports understands that emotions get high, especially at the highest level. Sometimes it boils over. It’s not the first incident like that in basketball history. But those are things I try to make sure I avoid.”
The Raptors and the Heat are set to do it again tonight in Florida when they face off at 7:30 pm ET.
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