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Hapoel Tel Aviv forward/center Johnathan Motley, a former Los Angeles Clippers player and currently one of the best basketball players in Europe, has terminated his contract with the team after his request for a settlement agreement due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East was denied.
Hapoel Tel Aviv owner Ofer Yannay has not been willing to honor the request, a league source tells ClutchPoints, despite Motley willing to pay a considerable amount of money back to the Club in exchange for the release.
Johnathan Motley terminates Hapoel Tel Aviv contract
Sources say that Motley, who signed a one-plus-one deal this past summer, has seen his mental health take a significant hit due to the ongoing tension and has been negatively impacted by the inability to have his family — two kids and their mother — with him as Israel’s armed conflicts against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran continue.
When Motley signed his deal in June, sources said, the agreement was for him to reside in Israel where he would partake in practices and home games.
Once the war escalated in July and August, it was determined that games originally scheduled to be played in Israel would be moved to Serbia and Bulgaria for the safety of players, staff, and family members. That was not part of Motley’s initial deal, but was something the forward was willing to attempt in order to make it work with his new teammates.
During a family visit to Tel Aviv in September, Motley, his partner, and their two young children were forced to enter a bomb shelter amid sirens and an impending strike. Over the last few months, there have been countless missile attacks on the Israeli territory, which have also been aimed at Tel Aviv, where Motley resided. The mother understandably has refused to bring the children due to the traumatic nature of having to take shelter from potential missile strikes.
Since the attack on October 7, 2023, Israel has been engaged in battles both in the south and the north, as well as with Iran, which fired 200 missiles at Israel in the beginning of October. Over the last few months, not only have sirens sounded throughout northern Israel to warn of potential strikes, but a missile broke through on October 29th and killed seven civilians, per the Israeli Defense Forces.
In recent weeks, attacks and threats of strikes intensified from Hamas, Hezbollah, as well as Iran, only further forcing Johnathan Motley’s focus to be on his safety and peace of mind over anything else. With domestic league games every weekend and EuroCup games during the week, Motley was forced to travel back and forth between countries for games and practices.
After days of owner Ofer Yannay’s unwillingness to negotiate in good faith, Motley saw no choice but to terminate his contract with the team, leaving Israel on November 3rd and heading back home to the United States. Sources confirmed that Motley’s camp offered to negotiate a buyout agreement in which he’d give back a significant sum of the money he was owed, but Yannay vehemently declined and instead took to tarnishing the 29-year-old’s image on social media.
Yannay is quoted as saying he will pursue avenues to ensure Motley is not released, via Twitter/X:
“Generous agreements were signed with all the players who are here when the security situation was less good.
Agreements should be respected.
For causing damages – you pay. Sometimes a lot.
Hapoel has no interest in a buy out – no matter how much.
A player agent receives generous commissions but also has responsibilities.
In order to play in the team, a player must receive a letter of clearance from FIBA. Until then he can't play.
To receive such a letter from them under the pretext of “war” when you were offered to stay abroad is clearly unlikely.”
לאור העליצות והחדווה הבוקר בחלק מעיתוני הספורט אני רוצה להזכיר כמה עובדות בסיסיות:
אף שחקן לא עושה טובה שהוא פה. זה כבוד גדול לשחק עבור המועדון הסמל והקהל.
שחקנים מדהימים, הטובים שבטובים רוצים לבוא לשחק עבור הפועל. זו מגמה שצברה תאוצה בקיץ הזה ורק תתעצם. שום ילד שהתבלבל ועשה…
— Ofer Yannay (@YannayOfer) November 1, 2024
In a separate post on Twitter/X, Yannay added, “Players need protection. Owners need protection. That’s why we have contracts. Agents and lawyers, however, can be held accountable and are easy to replace.”
Players need protection
Owners need protectionThat’s why we have contracts
Agents & lawyers however can be held accountable & are easy to replace.
— Ofer Yannay (@YannayOfer) November 5, 2024
Sources told ClutchPoints that the intent of the Club’s owner is to paint Johnathan Motley as the player who would create a precedent effectively ending contractual stability for foreign players in Israel.
Motley’s camp has denied the allegations, insisting that circumstances and perceptions of the war are out of any individual’s control and will differ from player to player.
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Ofer Yannay has claimed that Motley wants out of his deal in order to sign with another team, but sources told ClutchPoints that teams were not even aware of Motley’s plans until Yannay made public comments about the situation, essentially informing the entire world that he was no longer a part of the team. Since then, teams have been rumored to be lining up to make an offer for the suddenly-available Motley.
Yannay, who is in his second season owning Hapoel Tel Aviv, has been telling individuals involved on both sides that he’s looking to make an example of Motley and block him from playing for any other team due to what he deems a, “breach of contract,” one source revealed to ClutchPoints. Furthermore, sources say that Motley, who has had a strong season so far, simply wants to be able to play and focus on basketball in a safe environment.
Over the last few months, players like Jordan Loyd of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Speedy Smith of Hapoel Jerusalem both had their requests granted to be released from their respective Israeli teams.
Johnathan Motley, however, was not given the same grace and consideration.
Fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv have been highly critical of Motley since the team’s social media post announcing his sudden departure, with verbal abuse and harassment directed towards him — some going as far as to issue death threats.
Johnathan Motley had appeared in 6 EuroCup games, averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
Motley spent the last two seasons with Euroleague team Fenerbahçe out of Turkey, where he averaged a little over 15 points and five rebounds per game on 63 percent shooting in League play and 13 points and five rebounds on 62 percent shooting in Euroleague tournament play.
Motley is a former three-year NBA veteran, having played in the league from 2018 to 2020 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers.
