Bulls Analyst Kendall Gills Faces Suspension After Fracas with Colleague
The Chicago Bulls’ season is in a dangerous slippery slope with just a few weeks of NBA games left before the playoffs dots are connected. The injury-plagued team will have to grind its way to sustain a playoff berth without Derrick Rose. On Monday, the Bulls nearly came away with a victory against the streaking Denver Nuggets, who was on an 11-game win streak before coming into United Center. The Bulls lost the game, but not by much. The controversial loss in overtime was only the start of a domino effect in a Chicago newsroom the next day.
Comcast SportsNet Bulls analyst Kendall Gill punched himself out of a job on Tuesday. Gill is officially suspended for the remainder of the NBA season after Gill reportedly punched a colleague, Comcast Big Ten analyst Tim Doyle, because Gill was upset about Doyle’s criticism. Gill had observed that the referees took away the Bulls win after calling offensive interference on a tip-in from Joakim Noah with 1.7 seconds to play. Just 45 seconds earlier, Nuggets’ Kosta Koufos tipped in a Ty Lawson miss, though replays showed that Koufos touched the ball while it was still on the rim. The referees didn’t call offensive interference on Koufos. That cost the Bulls two points, and possibly the game.
Gill has NBA roots dating back to 1990, when he was the No. 5 pick in the 1990 draft. He played 15 seasons in the league, and averaged 13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, three assists, and 1.6 steals. Gill played for the Heat, Timberwolves, Heat, Nets, SuperSonics, Hornets, Bucks, and of course, the Bulls. Gill played 56 games with the Bulls. After retiring from the NBA, Gill reportedly took up boxing as his passion.
The Chicago Tribune reported on Friday that Gill’s status as an analyst for CSN Chicago will be terminated for the 2012-13 season. After what transpired in the newsroom, Gill’s passions for the Bulls and the Southpaw ways are high indeed.
