TORONTO – The National Basketball League of Canada has fined the Halifax Rainmen and their players following a fight and forfeiture of the championship game Thursday.

The bizarre turn of events happened after a brawl erupted between the Rainmen and the Windsor Express at a morning practice.

Rainmen management decided it was unsafe for the team to compete and the team did not show up for Game 7 in Windsor, Ontario.

“Today is truly a black eye for our league, when the game is not safe for players to compete there is a problem,” Andre Livingston, owner of the Rainmen club, said in a statement on Thursday. “We have to do a better job of governing our league and putting principles in place where there are strict consequences.”

The league levied $90,000 in fines.

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“The league takes this incident very seriously and we are working to address the matter to ensure it never happens in the future, and so that those who were responsible are held accountable,” the league said in a statement on Friday. “We sincerely apologize to the fans, partners, team owners, employees, players, and supporters of all of the teams in the league, and pledge to do our utmost to improve our league for the future.”

– with a file from The Canadian Press