NBA power forward Bobby Portis utilized his time before the press on Saturday, October 21, to express regret over his use of violence against his own teammate, and to apologize to that teammate, Nikola Mirotic, for putting hands on him and effectively injuring the 6'10" Montenegrin this past week.
Coming into the season Mirotic had been named the Bulls starter over Portis at the position. The two have naturally turned up during team practices as a result, but the passion they've taken to the court had been chalked up to the nature of competition up until Tuesday, when they faced off in the heat of the moment, and Portis launched a punch that concussed Mirotic and fractured his face. Mirotic is projected to be out for anywhere between four and six weeks as a result. Portis was promptly suspended for eight games over the incident.
"I'm wrong for what I did. I want to publicly apologize to Niko. I feel like I let my fans, the Bulls organization and, most importantly, my teammates down. This is not who Bobby Portis is," Portis told reporters. He says that he has attempted to contact Mirotic to express his sorrow personally, but his text messages haven't been answered.
There is a possibility that Mirotic may take legal action, but Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is gunning to get his two big men together in the same room to talk their differences out and rebuild a trusting and respectful relationship.
