Rainmen advisor Don Mills says NBL should have stepped in

One of the members of the Halifax Rainmen's advisory board says the National Basketball League should have stepped in earlier when the series with Windsor started getting scrappy.

The Rainmen pulled out of Game 7 last week and forfeited the championship following a scuffle between the two teams earlier in the day and the refusal by Halifax's coach and players to take the court.

The Rainmen were issued a total of $90,000 in fines. Eleven players have been indefinitely suspended and fined $5,000 each for conduct detrimental to the league.

Don Mills, a member of the Rainmen advisory board, says the league should have handed out discipline to both teams.

"One of the problems with this new league is the ability to recognize that a series may be getting out of control," Mills told CBC Radio's Information Morning.

"They needed to step in and provide some warning signs that it won't be tolerated. In this case it just kept escalating and it became pretty nasty toward the end of the series. There's no question about that.

"There were verbal threats made that were concerning ... It's a pretty disappointing situation." 

Owner Andre Levingston slammed the decision to forfeit. He says the players and coaches don't have a say in whether they play or not.

The players said they felt unsafe. 

Mills says the team's owner and advisory board will be meeting in a week or so to look at the price of tickets. 

He added the league might benefit from spring and summer games because competing against hockey is a challenge.

"It does need some corporate support," he said. "I'm not prepared to give up."