The NBA has come down hard on LA Clippers’ 6ft 8in All Star forward Paul George. They’ve fined him $35,000 for critical comments he made about the officiating of the Clippers-Philadelphia 76ers game on Thursday.
The visiting Clippers, penalised for eight more personal fouls than their opponents, lost 103-110 to underdogs Philadelphia.
George – with just three of 15 from the field and one of four from three-point range for 11 points – wasn’t shy about voicing his disapproval. He suggested the big disparity in the fouls had had something to do with ”home-court cooking.”
Previous violations also counted
The NBA noted that they had not only fined the Olympic Gold Medallist for those comments, but also for previous violations.
The fine, they stated, ”also reflects his multiple prior violations of the rule prohibiting public criticism of the officiating.”
This was at least the fifth time George has been fined for derogatory comments of this nature and was appropriately his heaviest of all five. It topped the $25,000 he was docked on two other occasions.
George, a Californian, is not all mouth. He is a pretty classy player as well. Apart from representing the winning USA team at the 2014 Olympics, he has also achieved a great deal more on the court. And most of it followed a broken leg in 2014 suffered while competing for a roster spot on the United States team or the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
He is a six-time NBA All-Star as well as a five-time All-NBA Team and a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection.
In his first season with the Clippers since arriving from the Oklahoma City Thunder, George is averaging 22.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.