Paul George fined $35K for public criticism of officials
Pacers forward Paul George let his emotions get the better of him after Friday night’s 104-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets, and now his wallet is going to be feeling a lot lighter.
The two-time All-Star was fined $35,000 by the league on Saturday for “public criticism of officiating” and “using profanity in a live television interview,” per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Pacers forward Paul George has been fined $35K by NBA for public criticism of officiating and using profanity in a live television interview
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) December 19, 2015
The incident in question occurred in a postgame interview with Fox Sports Indiana immediately following the game.
“The stripes was terrible,” said the 25-year-old George per Sports Illustrated. “It’s frustrating. Hopefully the league does a better job of looking at s— like this.”
Here is video of George’s interview (obviously containing NSFW language):
NBA announces Paul George has been fined $35K for public criticism of officials after this interview last night
https://t.co/yEtKf96NNo
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 19, 2015
Though George finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds on the evening (not to mention the victory), that still didn’t stop him from airing out his grievances about the officiating, which will almost always guarantee a hefty fine from Adam Silver.
Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star notes that George, who was already fined $10,000 for an incident earlier this year in which he also publicly lambasted the officiating, has accrued nearly $60K in fines at about the one-third mark of the season.
After season opener, Paul George was fined $10,000 for public criticism of officiating. But profanity on live TV must've added to this fine
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) December 19, 2015
This season (based on 6 techs & postgame criticism of referees) Paul George has been fined a total of $58,000
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) December 19, 2015
The Fresno State product has endured an up-and-down season with the Pacers. Though initially frustrated about being forced to play out of position at the 4, George has largely thrived in that role with 26.1 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and 4.0 assists per game for the 16-9 Pacers, who are currently second in the Eastern Conference.
It’s already well-known that when you stick a live mic in front of these athletes immediately after the heat of battle, anything can happen. But for a repeat offender like George, maybe he’ll think twice now before trying to drop the hottest referee diss track of the winter on live television again.
