Kenyon Martin's Suspension-Inducing Flagrant Foul on Shareef Abdur-Rahim
22March 24, 2002 - This period has been kind of lost to history but Kenyon Martin went on a flagrant foul rampage during the 2001-02 season. Yes, players today also accrue flagrant foul points to varying degrees. However, it's unlikely any player from the new millennium has earned them the way Martin did. Much of Martin's transgressions have been wiped from the internet but his 2001-02 handiwork may be best personified by his near decapitation of Karl Malone: • Karl Malone gets head taken off
In a vacuum, Martin's flagrant foul on Shareef-Abdur Rahim might not appear particularly egregious. However, considering how Martin had already been suspended for five games for previous flagrant fouls, the league appeared to have run out of patience. His eighth flagrant point of the season, Martin was suspended for two more games.
At the time, Martin remained defiant.
"I'm not changing the way I play. I'm not going to change," Martin said. "I'm getting paid to play. I'm getting paid to play basketball."
NBA commissioner David Stern offered an intriguing retort.
"[Martin] is going to change," Stern said, "or he's not going to be playing on a regular basis."
Following his two-game vacation, Martin played the rest of the 2001-02 season without being subjected to any additional suspensions.
Source 1: https://www.espn.com/nba/news/2002/0325/1357815.html
Source 2: https://www.netsdaily.com/2015/7/20/5195178/the-long-road-traveled-by-kenyon-martin