British basketball officials are accusing the Bulls of trying to persuade Luol Deng to skip the London Olympics -- and either rest, or have surgery on -- his left wrist, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The complaints are coming from Chris Spice, the performance director of British basketball, who is calling out the Bulls and the NBA:
"Luol Deng is hugely committed to the British Basketball program and he has maintained this stance despite recent pressure for him not to play after injuring his wrist during the highly-demanding shortened NBA season," Spice said in a statement cited by the Chicago Tribune. "We admire and support his stance. Luol is a true professional and manages his body extremely well as shown by the high amount of minutes he was able to play for his club after sustaining the injury in January."
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The Bulls cannot prohibit Deng from participating in the 2012 Olympic games under terms of the new collective bargaining agreement. In the meantime, Spice believes Great Britain will secure insurance for Deng's wrist despite the fact that it could cost roughly 400,000.
We have had to continue to cover this as we are contracted to do, Spice said, according to the Chicago Tribune. Unfortunately, we have had no support from the NBA, which remains a constant disappointment."