December 5, 2002
The Blazers have fined
Ruben Patterson $100,000 for conduct detrimental to the team, the organization, its fans and the City of Portland.
In addition, the Blazers have requested that the NBA and the Players Association require Ruben to be evaluated by an expert and receive appropriate counseling. If the NBA and Players Association agree to our request, Ruben will be required to participate or face a fine of $10,000 a day until he complies.
We care about Ruben and his family and want to respect their privacy as they deal with these personal issues. However, each of our players needs to understand that there is a standard of conduct that they are expected to maintain as members of our team and this community.
