NEW YORK (AP) — Detroit guard Killian Hayes and Orlando's Moritz Wagner were each given multi-game suspensions for their roles in a scuffle. At the same time, the NBA suspended eight Magic players one game apiece Thursday for leaving the bench area during an altercation.

Hayes, who struck Wagner in the back of the head, was given a three-game suspension without pay. Wagner was banned for two games, and the Pistons' Hamidou Diallo was suspended one game by NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars — the former Pistons star player and executive.

The fallout from the game in Detroit on Wednesday night was so large that the suspensions of the Magic players would be staggered, so they have enough available players to play their next game.

Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Gary Harris, Kevon Harris, Admiral Schofield, Franz Wagner, Mo Bamba, and Wendell Carter Jr. were all suspended for one game.

Wagner hip-checked Hayes into the Detroit bench to begin the altercation. Hayes got up and hit him in the back, and Wagner appeared to be knocked out briefly. Magic players then rushed off their bench area in concern for their teammates.

Anthony, Bamba, Carter Hampton, and Gary Harris will serve their suspensions Friday against Washington. Kevon Harris, Schofield, and Franz Wagner will be suspended for Orlando’s following game on Jan. 4 in Oklahoma City.

The 11 suspensions will result in just over $500,000 in forfeited salary. Hayes will lose the most, about $121,000.

A little town nestled in rural Indiana is named after the man in the big red suit, and that’s not by accident. Santa Claus, Indiana, is home to the only Santa Claus post office in America. He gets thousands of letters every year from kids all over the world.

“Santa needs a lot of help because Santa is busy making toys, busy getting ready for the big trip, getting the sleigh ready. The elves are working very hard, so we have to ask for help for Santa to answer all these letters," Mrs. Koch said. “I grew up with Santa Claus in my home.”

Her father found his calling early, as one of Santa's helpers

“And by the way, the beginning of my father being Santa Claus happened when he was 19 years old on the USS New York on Brooklyn navy yard as a young sailor," Mrs. Koch said. “And he said, and these are his words, 'Dear God, if I live through this war, this is what I will do. I will make children happy by being Santa Claus,' and he was.”

For 54 years, he carried out that work in Santa Claus, Indiana.

“I found those letters that my father had answered in the 30s and of course children were asking for underwear, socks and mittens. Now Xbox and computers and sometimes I don’t even know what they are talking about," Mrs. Koch said.

Mrs. Koch is an expert when it comes to the letters written in English, but when she gets letters in other languages, that’s when more of Santa’s helpers step in. Anja is from Switzerland. She read a letter from a girl in Germany who is worried about the pandemic.

"She says, 'I hope all the people will learn to live with COVID next year,'" Anja said.

It’s some of the same things kids in America are writing about.

“One child said, please wear gloves when you get my letter out of the envelope," Mrs. Koch said.

This is an opportunity for these foreign-exchange helpers to see just how similar kids are all over the world.

“It’s so cool to see that it’s all over the world and that we have something in common," Anja said.

“Santa is real. Santa is just so special and so magical and so much beyond what our world is," Mrs. Koch said. “Santa Claus is what’s wonderful. A caring, loving, giving, selfless human being that makes people happy, that sacrifices on that sleigh by going all over the world to make everybody happy, not picking and choosing everybody.”

The letters are far beyond a piece of paper. They are magic, spirit, and a reminder that every child, no matter where they are, is being heard and is loved by Santa.

“Ya know, I always say we should keep the spirit all year. What a wonderful world it would be," Mrs. Koch said.

If you'd like to donate to help keep the letters alive every year, click here.

On August 26, 2020, the sports world came to a halt as athletes protested the shooting of a Black man by cops in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The unprecedented move began when the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their NBA playoff game against the Orlando Magic to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Three games were postponed on Wednesday, but they resumed the following day.

There were reports that the Lakers and Clippers had voted to end the playoffs, but by Thursday, Aug. 27, players reportedly agreed to continue playing.

The league announced on Twitter that Thursday and Friday's games were postponed. By Saturday, games resumed.

Several teams and players followed suit throughout the sports world: MLS and WNBA postponed games, while some MLB teams and players postponed or sat out.

Several teams, including the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, canceled practice Thursday to protest Blake's shooting in the NFL.

Five Major League Soccer teams also stood in solidarity with the NBA, postponing matches on Wednesday.

In Major League Baseball, several teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds, chose not to play on Wednesday.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Matt Kemp sat out in protest on Wednesday.

The Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, and Philadelphia Phillies decided not to play on Thursday.

The National Hockey League postponed Thursday and Friday's playoff games after receiving backlash on Wednesday. It decided to allow several games to happen and hold a moment of reflection instead of postponing games like other clubs had done.

The WNBA also postponed three games on Wednesday.

Several college football teams, including Oklahoma and Ole Miss, canceled practice that Friday amid protest of Blake's shooting.

The protests also occurred on the anniversary of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sitting during the national anthem, demonstrating social injustice and police brutality.