Leopards have announced that they have released American guard/forward Antonio “Stix” Bright following a serious breach of club discipline.

Bright was suspended by the club for the pre-Christmas game against West Anglia Fury after he failed to attend any of the community work he was scheduled to do or attend practice.

A meeting between the American and club officials ended with Bright threatening General Manager Dave Ryan, and he has subsequently been fired by the Ware-based team.

“This wasn’t a decision taken lightly” said Ryan “We had invested a lot of time and money in the signing – but his behaviour in the weeks leading up to the game against West Anglia Fury, and at the meeting following the game meant we were left with little choice.

“It became apparent during his two months with the club that Stix’ main reason for being in England was to be with his girlfriend. The fact that she was based in Southampton meant that he neglected basically everything we needed him to do, and it became obvious that the situation could not continue.

Obviously it’s a disappointment to have to cut Stix, there was still plenty of positives this season. We have a team of British players who give 100 percent every night, and with us for the right reasons. We should have stuck to our guns and only signed British-based players who actually want to play for us – lesson learned, I guess.”

Leopards return to action on Saturday when they visit reigning league and play-off champions Worthing Thunder.

The south coach side are joint top of the table, and the Big Cats will be looking for revenge after a pair of losses against them this season.

A depleted Leopards team were hammered 112-76 in the National Trophy in October despite a fighting performance, but the National Cup quarter-final at Wodson Park saw the Big Cats just miss out in a 79-77 thriller.