Nunnally and Lazarevic wrestled to the ground, while Nunnally attempted to punch the Serbian. It is still unclear how the conflict started, as the video doesn't show it fully.
A fight between James Nunnally and Stefan Lazarevic happened on Sunday, the day of Game 3 of the ABA League Finals. The video footage of the incident has been leaked.
The video was obtained by Telegraf. It shows Nunnally and Lazarevic entangled, with Nunnally trying to punch the Serbian player while being wrestled down to the ground. Partizan's Jaleen Smith is constantly trying to separate the two players.
Moments later, players from both teams - Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade - come in to deescalate the situation. It is still unclear how the conflict started, as the video doesn't show it fully.
Earlier in the day, Crvena Zvezda released an official statement about the incident, showing photos of the injuries Lazarevic sustained, including a severe bruise and a cut under his left eye.
An hour later, Crvena Zvezda released a more in-depth video of the incident.
The two players can be seen talking among themselves moments before the action starts. According to Crvena Zvezda:
"When leaving the locker room, Lazarevic ran into Nunnally and asked him, 'Why did you grab my neck, why are you doing that, is it basketball?', which can be seen on the video, to which the Partizan first team player replied that it was basketball and that he would grab him by the neck in the future and cursed him. Then there was a mutual push, after which Nunnally first hit Lazarevic in the area of the left eye, and then when Stefan started going towards him, as can be seen in the video, when both players fell, Nunnally hit Lazarevic a second time in the area of the left eye and caused him serious physical injuries."
Partizan disputed the claim and said Lazarevic was the first to trash-talk Nunnally, which caused their player to retaliate. Additionally, Partizan claim a minute of the video footage was deleted.
James Nunnally
| Team: |
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade |
| Position: | SF |
| Age: | 33 |
| Height: | 201 cm |
| Weight: | 93 kg |
| Birth place: | California, United States of America |
"Unfortunately, the only recording that can confirm this is not complete because the period from 11:01:28 to 11:02:32 is missing, and KK Partizan calls for the URGENT INVOLVEMENT OF THE COMPETENT SERVICES in order to return the deleted recording and determine who deleted it! We ask that the person who deleted the video be held accountable in accordance with the law."
The club wants the ABA League to unleash harsh sanctions, such as the immediate disqualification and temporary removal of Nunnally from the competition and the upcoming Game 3.
The ABA League is aware of the incident and has now sent a disciplinary judge to Belgrade to gather all required information about the event, SportKlub reports.
Police have started an investigation, Mozzart Sport report. They are currently at the Arena reviewing video footage, the outlet writes.
Partizan is expected to release an official statement in the coming hours.
There was an incident between the two players during Game 2 of the ABA League Finals this week when Nunnally grabbed Lazarevic by the neck while fighting for a rebound.
