Just when it looked like we could all put the 76ers-Ben Simmons beef behind us for a second, something else comes up to remind us that this will never end.
Ben Simmons has officially filed a grievance against the 76ers the challenge the $20 million they’ve withheld from his salary after he didn’t play a single game for them this season.
Simmons demanded a trade after he was thrown under the bus in the aftermath of last season’s loss to the Hawks in the playoffs, Ben Simmons demanded a trade in the offseason and refused to interact with the team in any capacity.
He eventually reported to the team and showed up for practice and things went off the rails once again. Simmons then claimed he was struggling with his mental health and needed to step away from the team.
All the while, the 76ers kept fining him. Now we’re here. Simmons is trying to get that fine money back through the grievance. But, more than that, this case could have huge implications on how these situations are dealt with moving forward.
Let’s talk about it.
Wait, so break this down one more time?
Ben Simmons was obviously dissatisfied with his treatment from the 76ers after being blamed for their playoff loss to the Hawks last season, so he requested a trade.
That request was initially denied and he was ordered to return to the team. He refused. And once training camp started, the 76ers began fining him.
And they've fined him how much so far?
The 76ers have withheld nearly $20 million in salary, according to ESPN’s reporting.
This is money that they’ve been pulling out of his salary all season long to the tune of $1.3 million per game check. They’re also still pulling that money out while he’s with the Brooklyn Nets because there wasn’t enough money in each game check to fully cover the deductions while he was with the 76ers.
Yes, the situation is an unmitigated mess.
Sheesh. And that's money Simmons is trying to get back?
He is. He filed a grievance against the 76ers that will now have to be overseen in arbitration.
The 76ers claim Simmons breached his contract under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and that they had the right to pull that money back. Simmons is claiming that, because of his mental health struggles, he couldn’t reasonably play basketball for them.
The arbiter will listen to the facts of the case, gather evidence and make a decision on whether this money is owed or not and how all parties should proceed.
That’s where the precedent comes in.
Wait, the precedent for what?
Should Simmons win this case, it could possibly shape the way the NBA handles mental health issues contractually.
Simmons cited his mental health as the reason why his activities with the team were so limited, per ESPN.
“Simmons arrived in Philadelphia near the end of the preseason but cited his mental health for the reason that his participation in team activities was so limited…The 76ers and Simmons disagreed over the degrees of access that the team and its doctors were allotted to Simmons to diagnose and affirm his mental health.”
It’s a sticky situation because players have been away from their teams for mental health reasons before. But they’ve never actually been fined for it. It’s normally something that shows up on the injury report in one way or another, generally listed as “personal reasons.”
That didn’t happen with Simmons. Should it have? I’m not sure. But that could potentially have an impact on this case.
We’ll see how it goes. Maybe it forces the league to create a more formal process for mental health situations just like they have with physical injuries. Maybe there should be a separate system for players to report mental struggles with? I’m not sure.
But one thing is clear. And that is, regardless of the result, this is something we should be paying attention to.
