Former NBA forward Julian Wright has threatened to take legal action against the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers in Taiwan’s P.League+ professional basketball league for alleged breach of contract, a move the club has described as “regrettable.”
The 203cm-tall Wright, who played for the New Orleans Hornets and the Toronto Raptors from 2007 to 2011, started the inaugural 2020-2021 season as a player for the Lioneers and was then signed as a player development coach in late February.
He remained in that role until the season wrapped up in May, before returning to the US in early June.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers via CNA
His contract expires in August next year.
Wright, who is in the US, said that he has repeatedly contacted the team’s management about his return for the new season, scheduled to start on Dec. 4, but has yet to receive a formal response, something he sees as a breach of contract.
“I want to also announce that unfortunately due to a breach of the contract, I won’t be able to return and do my job as player development coach and also do things in the community. Sometimes business gets in the way of good feelings and good bonds,” Wright said in a video posted on social media.
In a text, Wright said that if a mutual termination agreement is not reached by Friday, he would take the matter to court in Taiwan.
“By my actions of suing, I’m showing how unethical business continues if it goes unchecked and hopefully my cases without sports organizations’ assistance, can give other expatriates courage to do the same,” Wright said.
The Lioneers responded with a statement describing Wright’s comments about the contract as “regrettable.”
Although Wright’s contract does not expire until August, it allowed either party to terminate the agreement unconditionally without paying any compensation and stated that Wright would not be paid a salary when he is not with the team during the off-season, the club said.
The provisions were included to give him flexibility, the club said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS