Nelson Burton Jr. Suspended Six Months by PBA for Scuffle
The Professional Bowlers Assn. suspended Nelson Burton Jr. for six months Wednesday because of a scuffle with a fellow bowler.
The suspension will last from Oct. 28 to April 28, preventing Burton from competing in events with prize money exceeding $2 million.
Burton, of St. Louis, was found guilty in August of a third-degree misdemeanor in an Overland Park, Kan., court and fined $250. He was found guilty of “unlawfully touching another person.”
The incident occurred March 15 at a PBA tournament in Overland Park, a Kansas City suburb. Burton, a member of the Bowling Hall of Fame, tangled with Greg Shields, a part-time competitor on the PBA Tour.
Shields accused Burton of an unprovoked attack. Burton said he shoved Shields against a pool table after Shields poured beer on him. Burton also said Shields has refused to pay a debt.
“Shields owes my wife, Sissy, $6,250 that she loaned him during a period late in 1980 when we were divorced,” Burton said.
The Burtons later remarried.
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