Moritz Wagner has been under contract with the Orlando Magic since April 2021.Image: AP / Scott Audette
Sporting competition is hardly conceivable without emotions. In a way, they also make up part of the appeal of the game. However, in every professional team sport there are certain teams that stand out due to their particularly physical style of play and are suspected of sometimes going overboard when it comes to emotional sympathy.
What Atlético Madrid is to football, the Detroit Pistons are to basketball, so to speak. Basketball legend Michael Jordan remembers the physical encounters of his Chicago Bulls with the Detroit Pistons and Dennis Rodman in the Netflix documentary “The Last Dance”. The German NBA star Moritz Wagner also had to make this painful experience.
Moritz Wagner received a blow to the back of the head
In the 101:121 defeat of Wagner’s Orlando Magic against the Detroit Pistons, an incident overshadowed the sporting events. Shortly before the end of the second quarter, the native of Berlin pushed his opponent Kilian Hayes into the players’ bench after a failed pass.
Pistons pro Hamidou Diallo then bumped into Wagner from behind and a real scuffle ensued. Players from both teams rushed at each other. Kilian Hayes retaliated with a smack on the back of Wagner’s head.
The 25-year-old German then looked knocked out and even fell to the ground after the assault. The referee team sanctioned the scuffle accordingly and sent Hayes and Diallo off the pitch alongside Wagner.
Moritz’ brother Franz Wagner takes a stand
With Franz Wagner not only another German plays with the Orlando Magic, he is also the younger brother of Moritz Wagner. After the game, he gave the all-clear and said about his brother’s state of health: “He’s okay”. He also emphasized that the riots were “Been the last thing he wanted to do.”
Moritz Wagner’s brother, Frank Wagner, also plays with the Orlando Magic.Image: imago/ today network
Nonetheless, several Orlando Magic players are now facing sanctions for jumping to the side of their teammate while illegally leaving the bench. Pistons coach Dwane Casey also complained:
“I need an explanation for this decision because as far as I know you can’t leave the banking area and escalate a situation. Then really bad things can happen.”
A look at the family tree of the Wagner family reveals a possible explanation for the incident. The father of the Wagner brothers shares the name with a German boxing legend: Axel Schulz. So maybe this mix-up caused the little digression into boxing.
Borussia Dortmund is currently dealing with a variety of problems. First the lack of good results in the Bundesliga, then the unclear situation of the star player Jude Bellingham. Now there are probably problems with youngster Youssoufa Moukoko staying at the club.
