We, the undersigned, petition the National Basketball Association to adopt a mandatory 25-game minimum suspension for any player who intentionally or recklessly endangers another player through conduct creating substantial risk of serious injury.

The Incident

On December 25, 2025, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort slid his leg into the lower leg and knee area of San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, continuing the motion as Wembanyama fell. While Wembanyama appears to have avoided serious injury, the play exemplifies the type of dangerous conduct that has no place in the game.

The Standard

A player acts intentionally when they engage in conduct with the purpose of initiating dangerous contact or with knowledge that such contact is substantially certain to occur.

A player acts recklessly when they consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk that their conduct will endanger another player. The risk must be of such nature that disregarding it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable player would observe.

Factors for determining whether conduct meets this standard include:

• Contact directed at vulnerable areas (knees, ankles, head/neck) while a player is airborne or otherwise defenseless
• Movement unrelated to a legitimate basketball play
• Continuation of dangerous motion after the basketball play has concluded

Petition

The NBA has a responsibility to enact policies and rules that uphold the safety of its players. Fines and flagrant fouls are not sufficient deterrents for conduct that can end careers. A meaningful suspension policy sends a clear message: endangering another player's health will not be tolerated.