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Debate: Was Aaron Gordon’s punishment too harsh or not harsh enough?

Frank Vogel benched the Magic’s best player after he violated a team rule

NBA: Orlando Magic at Charlotte Hornets Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Punishing the face of the franchise is not easy.

But that was what Frank Vogel had to do with Aaron Gordon on Tuesday.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported that Gordon was late for the Magic team flight to Dallas on Monday. Team officials called it a “violation of team rules” and Vogel held Gordon out of the starting lineup as a result.

Gordon, the Magic’s leading scorer at 19.2 points per game, had previously started in all 31 games he played this season, and in 72 of 80 games last season.

Fan response to Gordon’s punishment varied on Twitter. Some thought the punishment fit the crime and that star players must play by the same rules as the 12th man at the end of the bench, and held to the same standard when they break them.

Others felt that holding Gordon accountable in such a visible nature was unnecessary and will only create a rift between the Magic and Gordon, a player the franchise must keep happy.

We don’t know the full extent of Gordon’s transgression – or just how long the Magic team plane might have been sitting in the runway waiting for him. Either way, Gordon being late and the Magic being forced to discipline him is a bad look all around.

Was the punishment too harsh? Should it have been handled internally? Was the punishment not harsh enough? Should Gordon have been benched for the game?

Join the debate below…