COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
Former University of South Carolina basketball forward Renaldo Balkman is taking heat from teammates and fans in the Philippines as Balkman grabbed the neck of one of his teammates during a recent game.
In the video posted to YouTube, Balkman gets into a discussion with the officials about a missed call. After an angry exchange with three different officials, Balkman shoves a teammate who is trying to separate him from another official.
Arwind Santos, another one of Balkman's teammates, arrives to try and calm Balkman, but the former Gamecock shoves him as well.
That's when things get a little further out of hand. Santos shoves Balkman back, and Balkman responds by grabbing Santos' neck with one hand.
"Unbelievable," shouts the announcer, as officials and coaches try to break up the confrontation between the two players.
Balkman, a former first round draft pick to the New York Knicks in 2006, is now playing for the Petron Blaze Boosters in the Southeast Asian country.
As a Gamecock, Balkman averaged almost 10 points per game and was the most valuable player in the 2006 NIT series.
Balkman was signed to the Filipino team back in December 2012 after playing for the Knicks and the Denver Nuggets.
In a statement provided to WIS, 610 Sports Management, Balkman's agency called the incident a "case of excitement because he's into the flow of the game and his nerves got the best of him".
"He's remorseful and apologized to teammates, referees, the PBA, and Petron Blaze owners and fans. Lets put this behind us and win games," said the statement.
Balkman also tweeted a statement about the incident on his Twitter account.
"I [would] like to apologize to the fans, Petron Blaze, my teammates, the PBA and especially [Ronald Tubid] and [Arwind Santos]," said Balkman.
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(Source: YouTube)
