Jason Kidd Suspended 1 Game for Knocking Ball Away from Referee

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd has been suspended one game after knocking the ball out of a referee's hands during Wednesday's loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Marc Stein of ESPN reports Kidd will be sidelined for Friday night's clash with the Orlando Magic as a result of the incident with referee Zach Zarba.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports provided a full statement from the NBA:

Kidd explained his actions following the game, per Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"

I walked all the way down to get a timeout and then we had our discussion. He gave me the 'T.'

From there, I'm trying to protect my guys. Understanding we felt we were getting fouled and the whistle wasn't being blown. What happens in this league, you have to stand up for yourself, and my job is to protect those young guys.

But that wasn't the issue of the game. We gave them warm-up jump shots. They got our temperature, saw we didn't want to play defense and they took advantage of it. That's as easy as it is.

"

It marks the second time the former point guard has been suspended since joining the coaching ranks in 2013. He received a two-game ban while with the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2013-14 campaign following an off-court incident.

In this case, it was a combination of Kidd trying to work the officials for some more calls while also lighting a spark under his young roster. He just went a little too far, and the league decided to make a statement by handing out the suspension.

Assuming there's no appeal and he does sit out Friday night's game, Kidd will be eligible to make his return to the sideline Sunday when the Bucks take on the Charlotte Hornets.