NBA News and Rumors: Paul George Fined $35,000 for Profanity and Criticizing Officials
Paul George of the Indiana Pacers is one of the best forwards in the league today; but he also happens to have one of the biggest mouths when it comes to criticizing officials. For his most recent rant against the officiating crew in their 104-97 victory over the lowly Brooklyn Nets, George was fined by the league $35,000.
This isn't the first time George received a fine from the league. He was fined $10,000 early this season after publicly criticizing officials in the Pacers' loss to the Raptors.
At first impression, it seems like the fine is too big, but because the former NBA Most Improved Player used profanity in a live interview, such an amount is justifiable.
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The league responded with the fine, less than a day after George criticized the referees in their home win against the Nets. It's kind of hard to fathom really that he could rip officials off when they won the game. In most cases, the losing team or player is the one complaining.
"The stripes were terrible. We had to go out and just play… It's frustrating, but hopefully the league does a better job of looking at s--- like this," the former NBA All-Star player said.
Since returning from a gruesome injury in a US Basketball exhibition game, George has found a way to redeem himself and get back to competitive action. He's been playing the best basketball of his career, and issues like this one will only put him in a negative situation. It was obvious the entire game that he was frustrated with calls and non-calls. It has been that case for him when calls don't favor him. Well, his coach might agree with him, having received a technical in the third quarter when he thought his star forward was hit while driving to the basket. But unlike George, head coach Frank Vogel did not publicly and openly criticized the referees.
The 25-year-old George led his team with 23 points along with 10 rebounds.
