Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin is acknowledging his role and responsibility in the recent scuffle he had with Toronto Raptors’ Christian Koloko.
Martin taunted Koloko after a rebound battle and escalated an altercation with the rookie, tackling him to the stands on the Heat’s 112-109 Saturday win.
“I didn’t even realize I approached him like that. That’s 1,000% on me,” Martin said, via Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. “I think my momentum took me toward him. Obviously, being upset, I didn’t realize the placement where I was on the floor.
“But I got to take full accountability of the way I act and being the initiator and aggressor on that.”
Martin revealed that he tapped Koloko to express his apologies.
“I reached out to him last night. … Just letting him know I apologize and that’s not the way I carry myself and I don’t condone that type of stuff,” Martin detailed. “Obviously, he was cool about it. We talked about it and he understands.”
Martin was handed by the league a non-paid, one game suspension due to the incident, with teammate Nikola Jovic joining him after leaving the bench as the event took place. Koloko, on his part, received a $15,000 fine.
Martin and Jovic served their suspension this Monday, as the Raptors went on to win recently against the Heat in a rematch, 98-90.
