One of the most contentious rivalries in Australian sport has been turned up a notch, with Illawarra Hawks owner Dorry Kordahi making an emphatic statement in regards to allegations of spying from the Sydney Kings.
First reported by Matt Logue, the Sydney Kings filed an official complaint to the NBL last week, alleging that Kordahi had broken protocol by entering the WIN Entertainment Centre whilst the Kings were still training, ahead of the cancelled pre-season game between the two teams.
But following further comments made by Sydney Kings owner Paul Smith on radio station SEN, Kordahi has released a lengthy statement, calling out what he believes is a “personal attack… bordering on defamation of character.”
Kordahi went on to list what he believes are the facts of the situation.
“Sydney was scheduled to train on the court between 10:30am and 1pm. AT NO TIME did I or our Hawks staff member who accompanied me enter the arena between the times they were conducting their scheduled training,” Kordahi said.
“We first entered the arena floor at 1:05pm to access the outside concourse. There was no other way to enter other than via the arena. We were there for less than one minute and NOT ONCE were we asked to leave by any Sydney Kings staff member.
“We re-entered the arena at 1:15pm to conduct a review of corporate seating and floor configurations. At that time, a number of Kings players were sitting down, and a couple were conducting individual shooting drills. At this time, in our view, we believed the Kings had concluded their official team training session. Again, NOT ONCE were we asked to leave by any Sydney Kings staff member in attendance.
“I received a text message from Sydney Kings CEO Chris Pongrass at 1:23pm asking me to leave politely, to which I politely complied. During this time, messages between Paul, Chris, and myself were exchanged acknowledging the situation and their views.
“To accuse me of ‘spying’ is quite frankly silly and ridiculous and speaks to a Kings ‘culture’ of paranoia, distrust and antagonism.”
The Hawks owner also touched on comments from Smith regarding his attitude towards the NBL and it’s safety protocols, saying that he has “the utmost respect for the National Basketball League,” and that he has “been proactively working with other clubs to try and better the league and provide more positive commercial outcomes.”
Earlier in the week, Smith publicly called out Kordahi on Twitter, claiming the Hawks overstepped a “respected and professional boundary.”
I am incredibly saddened that what is the most respected and professional boundary of this great game has been trampled on in this manner. I thank our players and staff for taking the high road on the day itself. Some people need to do better. https://t.co/0k6AP4zHjE
— Paul Smith (@psmithtse) December 6, 2021
Fans won’t need to wait long to see this issue worked out on the court, with the Hawks travelling up the coast to play Sydney this Saturday.