Giddey is still in the game. However, there are suspicions that he had intimate contact with an underage girl in 2021, leading the league and Newport Beach, California police to launch separate investigations into him.

“There aren’t many instances where we’ve suspended a player solely on the basis of an allegation,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated last week on NBA Today, an ESPN daily program. There are three investigations in this case: one by the police, one by the NBA, and one allegation. We step aside while there is a criminal inquiry underway. This strategy has the immediate benefit of allowing Giddey, who has not been charged with a crime and has chosen not to speak on the matter, to continue playing while his case is being heard.

Many fans find that unsettling; during the Thunder’s recent trips to Minnesota, Houston, and Dallas, Giddey was met with jeers. The NBA’s cautious approach has also cast question on the basic fairness of the league’s player suspension policies. Giddey is Caucasian, but other Black athletes have been subjected to significantly harsher penalties for supposed transgressions outside of the game.

One such player is Kevin Porter Jr., formerly a guard with the Houston Rockets. He was arrested in September and charged with assaulting his girlfriend, the former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, at a New York City hotel. The Rockets banned Porter from all team activities before trading him to Oklahoma City in October. The Thunder waived Porter immediately. Gondrezick has since denied that he assaulted her. Prosecutors have dropped one of the charges against Porter, but he still faces two others. He has pleaded not guilty.