The Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have both been fined for their public criticism of game officials following Wednesday’s overtime loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia, the NBA announced Friday.
Mitchell has been fined $25,000 for criticizing game officials and his conduct while exiting the playing court, while Gobert has been fined $20,000 for publicly criticizing the officiating, said Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President of NBA Basketball Operations.
Mitchell and Gobert made their comments to the media following Utah’s 131-123 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on March 3 at Wells Fargo Center.
Mitchell, who received two technical fouls and was ejected with 30.8 seconds remaining, received the larger fine after he knocked over a water cooler while leaving the court, which rolled into a security staffer at the arena. He apologized to the staffer before heading to the locker room.
Both Mitchell and Gobert, however, were unrestrained in their criticism of the officiating in the Jazz’s game against the Sixers.
“It’s tough to go out there and see how we fight and compete and to have a game like that taken from us. I’m never, ever wanting to blame a ref, to blame an official — I always say I could have done more — but this is getting out of hand,” Mitchell said after the game. “There have been games like this that we’ve won, there have been games like this that we’ve lost. But this whole refereeing stuff — we’re nice [to them], we don’t complain, we don’t get frustrated, we fight through things. And the fact that we continually get screwed … We won this game in my opinion.”
Meanwhile, Gobert said that the Jazz received less respect from the referees due to Utah’s small-market status.
“We know that when you’re a small market — I don’t want to say that, but I really believe it — after playing in this league for eight years, it’s a little harder,” Gobert said. “And that’s one of the things that we’ve got to overcome. That’s why I told the guys, that when you’re a small market, we got to be got to be better than just better.”
He also tried to stand up for teammate Mike Conley, who Gobert noted has never received an NBA technical foul.
“Mike Conley is going to the rim, they’re grabbing him right in front of the officials, and there’s no call,” Gobert said. “On the other side, there are calls that are invisible that are made. I think it’s disrespectful to the game of basketball and to our team.”
The two fines are the NBA’s first this season for public criticism of NBA officials, though Utah’s Jordan Clarkson also received a $25,000 fine earlier this season for making contact with a game official during play. This season, Trae Young, Michael Carter-Williams, and Terrence Ross have been fined due to in-game vulgarities directed at officials.
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