Rudy Gobert’s fine for a hand gesture is double the fine that 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and guard Kelly Oubre Jr. received for actually intimidating the refs.
Earlier in March Gobert flashed money signs at the officials in the midst of the team’s 113-104 OT loss to the Cavs. The Wolves big man didn’t shy away from the insinuation that refs have a financial motivation to make certain calls, saying during post game comments: “Mistakes happen. Referees make mistakes, too. Sometimes I think it’s more than mistakes. And I’m gonna stay at that.”
For his hand gesture and comments, Gobert received a hefty $100,000 fine, the largest assessed to a player this season and the maximum amount allowed.
Oubre and Nick Nurse showing love to the refs post game pic.twitter.com/8yVqQB8bH5
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) March 28, 2024
Fast forward to Thursday night when Nurse and Oubre, upset at an apparent missed foul at the ending of their 108-107 loss to the Clippers, aggressively pursued and accosted the officials. Nurse had to be held back amidst confronting the officials while Oubre could be seen pointing at each official while yelling “You a b****” at them.
Both were fined $50,000 by the league. In their statement the league dinged Nurse for “aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing game officials.” Oubre was cited for “verbally abusing and directing an obscene gesture toward game officials.”
It seems the NBA finds calling into question a referee’s integrity, a la Gobert, worse than verbal abuse and near-physical threats.
It’s possible that the discrepancy in the fines has something to do with Oubre’s repentance after the game, saying: “This is an intense basketball game, of course. And we’re not perfect. The refs aren’t perfect. I want to apologize for just losing my cool, because that’s something I try to work on each and every day, and try to represent God in the best way I possibly can, and that wasn’t it. So I just ask for forgiveness.”
Gobert on the other hand, had this to say: “I think everyone that’s in this league knows. And I think it’s got to get better. I’ll bite the bullet again. I’ll be the bad guy again that speaks what I think is the truth. And hopefully the league, I mean they’re probably gonna fine me, and once again I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”
