NBA Cancels Charity Basketball Game At The Last Minute

A day before a charity pick up game organized by former Sacramento King Donte Green was set to be played, the NBA cancelled the event. The game, called The Goon Squad Classic, had sold over 1,000 tickets to fans, like Monica Topete, who were treated to quite a surprise when they showed up.

"You're walking around like where is everybody?" said Topete. "Yeah, I mean, we were wondering if it's the right place and we pulled out the tickets to see if it was here."

She showed up expecting a packed lot. Instead, there were no cars in the parking lot. No players in the gym.

Topete says a refund on her tickets won't solve everything.

"We got them originally for (my friend's) birthday so it just kind of sucks that his birthday present was actually fake," said Topete.

The NBA cancelled the event because of fears that the CBA may be violated by players' participation. Among those scheduled to appear were John Wall and Kings players Tyreke Evans and Demarcus Cousins. CBS 13 in Sacramento is reporting, however, that the NBA would not have cancelled the event had it not been for an unnamed team complaining, likely using the potential violation as a means to protect against its player being injured.

So the owners' own Goon Squad swooped in at the last minute to ruin some guy's birthday and take money out of the pockets of some charity, but hey, the NBA cares.

Goon Squad Classic Canceled After Mystery NBA Team Files Complaint [CBS]