7. Players won’t be punished for skipping out, sort of
Adam Silver said he stands behind players who choose to sit out voluntarily. Whether it be for a feeling they can do more for social issues by not playing or they don’t feel the risk of obtaining COVID-19 is worth the benefit of more games, they will be allowed to skip out with no punishment.
Sort of.
If a player chooses not to play, they will also not get paid. Specifically, they will forego 1/92.6 of their salary.
Call me crazy, but losing money based on an action sounds a lot like a fine, a term I would put squarely in the category of punishment.
There will be a few exceptions. If a player is deemed a high-risk patient from a health standpoint or has another form of an excused absence, they may skip out and still get paid.