Posted on 02/02/2004 3:33:36 PM PST by GulliverSwift
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal was suspended without pay by the NBA on Monday, one day after using obscene language and publicly criticizing the officials during a television interview.
The suspension was announced just hours after O'Neal issued a statement apologizing for the comments he made following the Lakers' 84-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
O'Neal will serve the suspension Monday night, sitting out a game against the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers. It will cost him nearly $295,000.
O'Neal scored a season-high 36 points against the Raptors in his third game back after missing 12 because of a strained right calf, but was angered by the officiating.
He made that clear in his postgame interview on KCAL-TV -- conducted almost immediately after the game.
``My message to (commissioner) David Stern is get some people in there that understand the game and don't try to take over the ... game because people pay good money to see good athletes play,'' O'Neal said.
When reminded he was on live TV, O'Neal responded with another profanity before the interview continued.
``My comments were made out of frustration in the heat of the moment,'' O'Neal said in the statement released Monday by the Lakers. ``But I realize that my choice of words was inappropriate and again, I would like to apologize.''
The game at Indiana was the second of a seven-game road trip for the Lakers, who played without injured stars Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone, as well as O'Neal.
My comments were made out of frustration in the heat of the moment,' I realize that my choice of words was inappropriate and again, I would like to apologize.''
Blah blah blah. I wonder who wrote that one up for him.
Not nearly enough. We'll see more of this immature behavior thanks to the tattoo loving, criminal coddling commissioner D-Diddy David Stern's embrace of the gansta culture for the NBA.
I'm deeply concerned. The NBA was once a great organization, not anymore.
The Lakers are like the Yankees -- locals love them and the rest of the country hates them. I gather you are the latter.
Shaq gets fouled more and harder than anyone else in the league. He gives about 25% of what he gets. If he were to foul others as hard as they do in the still-prevalent "hack-a-Shaq" "strategy" there would be dead bodies in the NBA.
The fact remains, Shaq does a lot for the community and is generally one of the good eggs. But sometimes he reverts to adolescence like this and he is always truly apologetic.
You prefer the overt gang members that are the "respected" members of the NBA? I guess so.
But you're right. They want a bunch of foreigners with bizarre names and wannabe gangstas. There is no way this is going to draw white male viewers, which is what they desperately need to survive.
If Jim Healy were still with us, we'd all get to hear it over and over and over again!
I am sure ESPN omitted the F-Bomb. Southern California saw it live on KCAL after the game though. He deserved to be fined but a suspension is ridiculous. The officiating in the league has deteriorated, and Shaq was within his rights to say so. Mark Cuban has been fined tens of thousands for saying much the same thing. If a player criticizes the officials they know they will be fined. But a suspension is uncalled for.
I think thier all in Portland, Oregon. That hotbed of gang activity where the TrailGangsta, Failblazers, WeedBlazers play. They can't help it. They have never recovered from that 4th quarter game 7 meltdown against the Lakers in 2000. No amount of weed will make the pain go away.
That's because he can't hit the broad side of a barn on his free throws. If he only had the discipline to practice free throws, he wouldn't get fouled as much, and he might have a longer career, and be an even more dominant player.
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