Paul George Fined for Criticizing Officials: Latest Details and Comments
Indiana Pacers forward Paul George reportedly received a $35,000 fine from the NBA on Saturday for "public criticism of officiating and using profanity on television."
Adi Joseph of Sporting News provided word of the punishment. Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com passed along comments George made during an appearance on Fox Sports Indiana following a 104-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
"The stripes (were) terrible," George said. "We (had to) go out and just play. The way this game was going and how they (were) calling it, we had to play. ... It's frustrating, but hopefully the league does a better job of looking at s--t like this."
Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star noted George continued to voice his frustration over the officiating after the television interview, too.
"It's frustrating when the guys I'm matched up with have less fouls than I do and they're not attacking as much as I'm attacking," George said "It's very frustrating and it's been going on for a long time."
The 25-year-old two-time All-Star was previously fined $10,000 back in October for public criticism of officiating. In all, he's been docked $58,000 during the 2015-16 campaign, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
George was also slapped with a $25,000 fine during last season's playoffs after referring to calls the Miami Heat received as "home cooking."
He finished Friday night's game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, seven turnovers and four fouls in 36 minutes of action. The Pacers had 15 fouls as a team compared to 21 for Brooklyn. In the bigger picture, his 2.8 fouls per game are tied for 33rd in the league.
At this point, George should fully understand that every negative comment he makes about the officiating is going to draw a fine from the league. Even if he feels he's being treated unfairly, it doesn't make sense to keep discussing it publicly.
