Shane Heal: Australian basketball legend charged with common assault
An acclaimed former professional basketballer who played for Australia at four Olympic Games has faced court after he chucked a water bottle out his car window at a man during a spat over who had right of way on a footpath.
St George Shire Standard
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A quadruple Olympian who captained the Boomers at the pinnacle of his illustrious basketball career has been hauled to court after he chucked a water bottle at a man during a fight over who had right of way on a footpath.
Shane Heal, 50, played basketball for Australia at the Olympics in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, starred for the Sydney Kings and played two stints in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the San Antonio Spurs.
He was charged with common assault in February after hitting a man in the chest with his water bottle during a verbal disagreement over who had right of way on the footpath outside Metro Petroleum in Jannali.
“The victim was walking on Box Rd Jannali (when) a silver sedan pulled into the service centre driveway,” agreed police facts state.
“The victim has said ‘mate, this is a footpath, you have to give way to pedestrians’.”
The pair began arguing about who had right of way before Heal snapped.
“The victim and the accused have continued to argue with each other for approximately 10 seconds until the accused grabbed a water bottle located within the car and threw it at the victim, colliding with the victim’s chest,” agreed police facts state.
“The victim has picked up the water bottle and tossed it in the direction of the accused’s vehicle.”
Heal faced Magistrate Michael Crompton at Sutherland Local Court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to the single charge.
He was sentenced to a six-month conditional release order without conviction.
“He’s 50, he has no criminal history and he’s got a history of quite substantial work in the community,” Mr Crompton said.
Heal now runs a private basketball academy and coaches basketball at a Sydney private school.
