Report: NBA puts onus on teams to monitor, discipline COVID violations

The NBA will place more responsibility on teams to monitor and dole out punishment for COVID-19 protocol violations among players and staff, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In a memo ESPN obtained, the NBA maintains individual teams must notify the league head office of any discipline handed down for protocol breaches.

The league still has the power to overrule disciplinary decisions the respective teams make due to the framework of the collective bargaining agreement, the memo adds.

Thursday's memo reiterated that the NBA holds the principal authority to monitor in-game violations, like the failure of coaches and inactive players to sport masks and "egregious" or "meaningful" organizational failures resulting in the spread of COVID-19 or game postponements.

Clubs have also been reminded they must follow typical processes in "determining the facts, providing the person alleged to have violated the protocols with an opportunity to be heard, and using principles of fairness, proportionality, and progressivity in determining discipline."

The Association's memo comes the same day the Chicago Bulls announced Lauri Markkanen, Tomas Satoransky, Chandler Hutchison, and Ryan Arcidiacono will all miss Friday's game against the Washington Wizards due to health and safety protocols.

Each franchise employs compliance enforcement officials and facemask officers responsible for reporting violations of the league's health and safety protocol to upper management.

The league's letter also reestablishes that teams can learn about potential violations through several sources including media, social media reports, game broadcasts, and the health and safety hotline.