For the second straight year, the Sixers are looking past a troubled past, at least for a workout.
The team this week, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe, will work out Philly native Brandon Austin, who has previously been accused of sexual assault in two separate incidents.
Austin is simply using the Sixers' facility to work out and improve his game and is not officially working out with the team, sources tell CSNPhilly.com's Jessica Camerato.
Austin, an Imhotep alumnus, was accused of sexual assault at both Providence College and the University of Oregon. He was suspended from the Providence team and was dismissed from Oregon.
"First thing I did was I looked at all the banners and all the legends," the 6-6, 180-pound guard said last year after his workout with the Sixers (see story). "It's a dream come true and I'm thankful for the opportunity."
The Sixers didn't sign Austin last year and neither did any other team.
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Perhaps his remaining unsigned had something to do with the league's actions last summer, as detailed by ESPN, that may have discouraged teams from signing Austin and another unnamed player who also had faced sexual assault or domestic violence allegations.
"Last summer, the league sent a memo to all 30 teams instructing any team interested in signing either player to call the NBA office, sources say. Teams that called were told about the allegations, and that the players could face discipline - including suspensions or fines - in the event any team signed them, sources say. No NBA or D-League team did."
According to ESPN, the NBAPA filed an arbitration claim, basically saying the NBA "overstepped its bounds" with the memo. The arbitrator ruled the league could not suspend players based on previous allegations, but the league is still able to reject any contract.
