Charlotte Bobcats' Coach Larry Brown has a little less change in his pocket today. He was fined $60,000 by the NBA for his actions during Monday night's preseason game.
After receiving two technical fouls, Brown was ejected from the game during the third quarter. Instead of heading to the locker room, Brown stayed out on the court for a while.
Brown eventually left the court and went into the locker room. By that time security had been called by replacement referee Kevin Scott.
Negotiations between the NBA and their regular officials have not resulted in an agreement. So, the NBA is using replacement officials until a new contract can be agreed upon.
Brown probably wishes that new contract would hurry up now. His lingering around after being tossed and verbally abusing the referees during the Monday night's preseason game against Atlanta resulted in a $35,000 fine from the NBA.
An additional $25,000 fine was assessed to Brown for publicly criticizing the referees after the game. This total's up to $60,000 in fines for one game for Coach Brown. The Bobcat's were also fined $60,000 for Brown's actions.
Brown and other coaches have criticized the replacement referees for their quick whistles. Personal fouls are being called more often in games. This breaks the flow of the game and does not allow continuous play.
Brown is not alone in his criticism of the replacement referees or in receiving fines. Memphis Grizzles' Coach Lionel Hollins was also fined $25,000 for criticizing the referees after a game.
The NBA regular season starts October 27th. If a new contract cannot be agreed upon, the replacement referees will stay on the job. If that is the case, then this season could be filled with lots of personal fouls and fines like Coach Brown's $60,000. It could also mean boring games for the fans.
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