Larry Brown Penalized For Comments

NFL News - October 15th, 2009 - Written by John

NBA referees have become a much easier target for criticism in the first weeks of the preseason because of their unflattering pedigree and lack of proper seasoning. They are replacement officials hauled in after the league failed to agree to a contract extension with the first-team over the summer. Commissioner David Stern sent out a preemptive strike against players and coaches who would find fault in the new crews, issuing a zero-tolerance policy for inevitable criticism.

Charlotte Bobcats head coach Larry Brown became the first big casualty of the policy, being hit with a whopping $60,000 fine (almost a full game salary) for his actions during Monday night's game in Atlanta. Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins was also $25,000 fined for his actions Monday.

Brown was called for two technical fouls Monday by Kevin Scott, and refused to leave the court after he was ordered to. He remained on the sidelines and only left when security was called to escort him into the the locker room. The fine was broken up into two parts: $35,000 for his verbal abuse and $25,000 for confronting the referees publicly. Brown did not give a reason for his behavior, nor did he comment at all after the game. But he has complained about the replacement refs for their overall performance this year.

Fouls are up this year by about seven-per-game compared to this time last year.

"It's like the summer league games," Brown said on Tuesday. "I've always had issue with that. You never get to see the kids play. There's always fouls being called."

The most unusual case came in a game in which Brown coached against New Orleans. In that game, 77 fouls, which allowed 95 free throws to be awarded. On Monday, 61 fouls were called with five technicals.

“There wasn’t an up and back and up in the whole game that I can remember,” Brown said.

“That was hard.”

Brown was named head coach last year by owner Michael Jordan to help steer many of the young players on the roster, but has had a tough time adjusting to the new referees and has publicly. Even the players are feeling the brunt. Many of them have begun to feel comfortable with certain referees and even became familiar with their personalities.

"You know what you're going to get out of guys," Charlotte's Raja Bell said of the of the first-team refs. "You know who's got a short fuse, who's got a quick whistle, the guys who are going to let you play and tell you to get up when you might take a dive. This is a little different. All these guys are new to us."

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