Mark Cuban Fined $500K for Ripping Refs, Mavericks' Protest vs. Hawks Denied

The NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks governor Mark Cuban $500,000 for his "public criticism and detrimental conduct regarding NBA officiating" after a Feb. 22 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The league also announced Friday it is denying the Mavericks' protest of their 111-107 loss. In its statement, the league criticized Cuban for "demeaning" the referees:

"It is a recognized part of sports for fans and the media at times to criticize officiating, but team executives must be held to a higher standard. A team owner's effort to influence refereeing decisions during and after a game creates the perception of an unfair competitive advantage and thereby undermines the integrity of the game. Demeaning league employees also creates an intimidating workplace environment. With an increased focus on respectful conduct by coaches, players and fans during games, the actions of team executives should set an example and not lower expectations for appropriate behavior in our arenas."

Cuban offered the following response: 

The basis of the Mavericks' protest—and the spark for Cuban's outburst—was a successful putback by Hawks forward John Collins late in the fourth quarter. Dorian Finney-Smith was incorrectly called for a goaltend on a Trae Young shot attempt, and the Mavericks successfully challenged the call. However, officials awarded Collins a tip-in because the NBA Replay Center determined he was in the act of tipping in the ball at the time of the whistle.

A review by the NBA showed that Collins' tip came 1/15th of a second after the whistle began, so the shot should not have counted. The NBA said officials followed proper protocol in the moment and therefore would not grant the Mavericks' protest.

Collins' shot put Atlanta ahead 111-107 with 8.4 seconds remaining.

Cuban went onto the floor after the game to confront officials, later continuing his criticism on social media and in interviews. 

"Refs have bad games. Crews have bad games. But this isn't a single game issue," Cuban said in one of several tweets on the issue. "This is the same s--t that has been going on for 20 years . Hire former refs who think they know how to hire , train and manage. Realize 2 years later they can't. Repeat"

Cuban's issues with officiating are nothing new and have been a persistent issue since his purchase of the Mavericks. As noted by Marc Stein of the New York Times, Cuban has been fined more than $3 million by the NBA since 2000.

In an interview with Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, Cuban explained his issue largely comes down to what he believes is systemically poor training of officials:

"Out of the 70 refs, give or take, I think I counted 17 that have five years or less experience. That's a lot. And you can't expect new refs to be any good. And that's because we do such a horrific job of training in the G-League. Not a poor job. Not a marginal job. We apply literally no resources. The Joey Crawfords and Bennett Salvatores, I'm so glad I can call those guys out, because they're awful at their jobs."