Former NBA forward Julian Wright has threatened to take legal action against the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers in Taiwan’s P.League+ professional basketball league for alleged breach of contract, a move the club has described as “regrettable.”
The 203cm-tall Wright, who played for the New Orleans Hornets and the Toronto Raptors from 2007 to 2011, started the inaugural 2020-2021 season as a player for the Lioneers and was then signed as a player development coach in late February.
He remained in that role until the season wrapped up in May, before returning to the US in early June.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers via CNA
His contract expires in August next year.
Wright, who is in the US, said that he has repeatedly contacted the team’s management about his return for the new season, scheduled to start on Dec. 4, but has yet to receive a formal response, something he sees as a breach of contract.
“I want to also announce that unfortunately due to a breach of the contract, I won’t be able to return and do my job as player development coach and also do things in the community. Sometimes business gets in the way of good feelings and good bonds,” Wright said in a video posted on social media.
In a text, Wright said that if a mutual termination agreement is not reached by Friday, he would take the matter to court in Taiwan.
“By my actions of suing, I’m showing how unethical business continues if it goes unchecked and hopefully my cases without sports organizations’ assistance, can give other expatriates courage to do the same,” Wright said.
The Lioneers responded with a statement describing Wright’s comments about the contract as “regrettable.”
Although Wright’s contract does not expire until August, it allowed either party to terminate the agreement unconditionally without paying any compensation and stated that Wright would not be paid a salary when he is not with the team during the off-season, the club said.
The provisions were included to give him flexibility, the club said.
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
A Taiwanese software developer has created a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model to help people use AI without exposing sensitive data, project head Huang Chung-hsiao (黃崇校) said yesterday. Huang, a 55-year-old coder leading a US-based team, said that concerns over data privacy and security in popular generative AIs such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek motivated him to develop a personal AI assistant named “Mei.” One of the biggest security flaws with cloud-based algorithms is that users are required to hand over personal information to access the service, giving developers the opportunity to mine user data, he said. For this reason, many government agencies and
The National Fire Agency on Thursday said a series of drills simulating a magnitude 8.5 earthquake would be held in September to enhance the government’s emergency response capabilities. Since earthquakes cannot be predicted, only by continuously promoting disaster prevention measures could Taiwan enhance its resilience to earthquakes, agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said in a news release. The exercises would be held to mark annual National Disaster Prevention Day on Sept. 21, the aim of which is to test Taiwan’s preparedness and improve its earthquake resilience in case of a major temblor, Hsiao said. As part of those drills, an earthquake alert would
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
RSS