Chris Paul Fined $25,000 for Comments Regarding Officiating

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul made his feelings known regarding the officiating in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday, and now he'll have to pay up.

According to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group, the NBA fined CP3 $25,000 for his critical comments:

On the heels of L.A.'s 105-94 defeat against the Cavs, Paul singled out referee Lauren Holtkamp for what he believed was poor officiating, per ESPN.com's Arash Markazi:

"

I think we have to show better composure, but at the same time some of [the technical fouls] were ridiculous. The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don't care what nobody says, I don't care what she says; that's terrible. There's no way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court, and when we did that, she said, 'Uh-uh.' I said, 'Why, uh-uh?' And she gave me a tech. 

That's ridiculous. If that's the case, this might not be for her.

"

Lee Seham, general counsel of the National Basketball Referees Association, later admonished the eight-time All-Star, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:

While players are subject to fines for criticizing officials regardless of the context, there is no question Paul is under the microscope more than most because Holtkamp is a woman.

However, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach and former WNBA star Becky Hammon doesn't believe gender had anything to do with Paul's opinion:

Even so, the 29-year-old star's wallet just got a bit lighter.

Based on the media firestorm that's erupted since Paul spoke critically of Holtkamp, one can only assume that he will think twice about criticizing officials—no matter their gender—moving forward.

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