NBA Coach Suspended Seven Games for Shoving Ref.

Sports Illustrated ^

[GulliverSwift]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was suspended seven games Wednesday by the NBA for shoving an official, a steep penalty that will keep him off the sidelines until the middle of February.

Sloan pushed referee Courtney Kirkland in the chest and was ejected during the first quarter of Utah's 102-92 victory at Sacramento on Tuesday night.

[GulliverSwift]

The NBA officials are trying to make a statement. I saw the little shove on Sportscenter and it's nothing compared to what Dennis Rodman did to a ref, headbutt him. Rodman was only suspended six games, whereas this coach was suspended seven games.

[Mr. Mulliner]

I didn't see this shove, but it sounds reasonable to me to lose 7 games. It was definitely an unreasonably short suspension that Rodman got for his antics.

[NittanyLion]

If Ron Artest had shoved a ref I suspect he would've been hit with a $10,000 fine...

[FreeTally]

Looks like the NBA decided to make a point about all of this nonsense when they finally had a white guy involved in an incident. I know Van Exle got a seven game suspension, but it could easily be argued he deserved more than that. If I had been the ref, I'd have whipped Nick's a$$.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Hey! They won the game. It worked.

[InvisibleChurch]

What is it with Artest? He's a madman. Hmmm, maybe that's it.

[Sir Gawain]

The ref probably flopped.

[mr.pink]

I saw the little shove on Sportscenter and it's nothing compared to what Dennis Rodman did to a ref, headbutt him.

The league is right to expect a higher level of behaviour from it's coach than it's players.

[uncbob]

Bring back the Good Old Days when the players fought players, players fought fans, coachs punched each other out.

[Utah Girl]

LOL! Good one. I have read the Utah newspapers, the league is saying the shove was unprovoked, the players who were around him, and Mo Cheeks, the opposing coach say that Sloan was provoked by the ref, by something he said. Still, Sloan should know better...

[subterfuge]

Sloan is a jerk and needs to take his act somewhere else along with his dirty players, Stockton and Malone. IMO.

[Sir Gawain]

Jazz hater alert.

[TexRef]

True. Unfortunately, coaches are not under the collective barganing agreement and, thus, cannot be fined by the league (he could be fined by the Jazz, but that is doubtful).

[TexRef]

Mo Cheeks, the opposing coach say that Sloan was provoked by the ref, by something he said.

Riiiiight. Please -- coaches (and players) say all sorts of crap to officials ALL game long. It's a double standard that they live with. But I doubt that the referee said anything provoking -- Sloan might not have liked whatever was said, but I doubt that the comment in and of itself was provocative.

On a side note, it is never about that call -- i.e. an out-of-bounds -- Sloan was just pissed in general or going psychotic and used the OOB play as an excuse to go loopy!

[TexanAmerican]

It's a good message!

PLAYERS DON'T TOUCH REFEREE'S

[Texaggie79]

Ha, looks like the coach was just trying what got Malone and Stockton to be so successful in the league. Shove and elbow....

[NittanyLion]

Unfortunately, coaches are not under the collective barganing agreement and, thus, cannot be fined by the league.

True. One would also expect coaches to be held to a higher standard than players (not to excuse Artest's abysmal behavior).

[subterfuge]

Hate is such a strong word. I'd say I dislike them intensely. :^)

[Zebra]

Much more. He just got four games for flipping off the Heat crowd in a recent Pacers-Heat game. The games are worth about $500,000 in pay. Ouch! Still, I gotta think shoving a ref gets more games/fine than a bird to the fans.