In a Sunday news release, the NBA announced it had fined Minnesota center Rudy Gobert $100,000 after he made a money sign during a Friday night game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, implying that a referee was catering to gamblers.
The NBA said the fine, the maximum amount as stipulated by the collective bargaining agreement that went into place last year “takes into account Gobert’s past instances of conduct detrimental to the NBA with regard to publicly criticizing the officiating.”
According to the Associated Press, this is the fourth time Mr. Gobert has been fined for public criticism of officials.
The Timberwolves were leading by one point when Mr. Gobert was called for a technical foul—his sixth and disqualifying foul with 27.8 seconds left in regulation.
When referee Scott Foster whistled the loose ball foul, Mr. Gobert rubbed his fingers together several times while pointing at him.
Mr. Foster didn’t see the hand gesture, but referee Natalie Sago did and slapped him with a technical. This granted Cleveland a free throw, sending the game to overtime. The Timberwolves lost 113-104.
“I’ll bite the bullet again,” Mr. Gobert said after the game, expecting to be fined. “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”
“A technical foul with 27 seconds in the game, to be honest, is unacceptable,” the team’s assistant coach Micah Nori, who filled in for Chris Finch, commented on the incident.
“That’s who Rudy is, but you’ve got to be smart. He made a visual that was automatic. He was obviously frustrated—both teams were—but we have to be smarter.”
Mr. Gobert apologized for his reaction and said he was sad to see his team lose because of it.
“My reaction, which I think is truth—it’s what I truly believe—even if it’s the truth, it wasn’t the time for me to react that way,” he admitted. “I should have not done that. I cost my team the game, and obviously, they couldn’t wait to give me a tech. That was bad. That was an immature reaction.”
Still, as far as the NBA’s referees are concerned, Mr. Gobert reiterated his unhappiness.
“It’s not just one call,” he said. “Everyone makes mistakes, but when it’s over and over and over again, of course, it’s frustrating.”
To The Athletic, he said, “Sometimes I think it’s more than mistakes. I think everyone in this league knows. I think it’s got to get better.”
The NBA called Mr. Gobert’s gesture “inappropriate and unprofessional”.
Last year, then-Philadelphia guard James Harden was fined the same amount for what the league called “public trade demands,” a decision the National Basketball Players Association objected to.
