The Miami Heat have suspended shooting guard Dion Waiters for 10 games without pay for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Miami has levied a 10-game suspension on Waiters for “conduct detrimental to the team” off heels of incident where he had taken one ‘gummy‘ prior to boarding team plane, per sources. https://t.co/3YujvvfPXd
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 10, 2019
The suspension follows an incident where Waiters passed out on the team plane after taking “gummies” laden with THC.
Charania also reports that the organization believes Waiters was given the gummy by a teammate, but he has refused to say who provided it to him.
The Heat believe Waiters was given the “gummy” by a teammate, but Waiters has been reluctant and has decided not to say who provided it, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Waiters has had a tumultuous series of events with Miami this season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 10, 2019
Waiters reportedly suffered a seizure on the team plane during a trip from Phoenix to Los Angeles, and he was scratched from Friday's game against the Lakers with an “illness” designation.
This has hardly been the most ideal start to the season for Waiters. He was suspended prior to the Heat's regular season opener after taking to social media to offer criticisms of head coach Erik Spoelstra and take a questionable jab at Miami rookie Tyler Herro.
Waiters had a confusing response to his suspension, taking to social media again to suggest that Spoelstra only won because of the “Big Three” (via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel):
In the wake of his suspension, Waiters posted on his Instagram, “Eventually the truth will come to the light.” Waiters' account also responded elsewhere to an Instagram post with, “I would win if I had Bron & Wade plus Bosh.” That was in reference to Spoelstra coaching the Heat to four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and 2012 and '13 titles with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
The former Syracuse star had made efforts to lose weight and improve his conditioning this season, but he has yet to play a single game and cannot seem to overcome his personal demons.