Ivan Johnson no longer banned, just suspended for PBA season

Following Ivan Johnson's visit to the PBA office on Tuesday, Commissioner Chito Narvasa has lowered the Tropang TNT import's lifetime ban to a season-long suspension.

The decision was announced via the PBA website on Wednesday morning.

Narvasa also granted the TNT management's appeal to reduce the P250,000 fine to P150,000.

Johnson voluntarily presented himself to the commissioner four days after the league banned him for life for his "disrespect to authority" by cursing Narvasa in the TNT-Meralco game on Saturday.

Accompanied by his wife and two sons, he met with the commissioner to apologize for his actions and explain himself.

Narvasa accepted his apology and even bonded with the family after the media briefing following their talk.

"To me it was just a mistake. You cannot condemn him for one mistake. He's rectifying this already by coming over here," he said.

TNT earlier decried the lack of due process over Johnson's case, as the ban was handed down even before the game ended last Saturday.

But after the import was "given a day in court," team manager Virgil Villavicencio said they will abide by PBA's final verdict.

"We have to respect the decision of the Commissioner. We'll not go against that," he said. —JST, GMA News