I had never seen a NBA player fire a ball at a referee in frustration before.
Until Saturday night, that is.
That's when San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan did just that after being called for an offensive foul with just over five minutes remaining in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets.
DeRozan was not happy at all with the ref, Scott Foster, who made the call and reacted by immediately firing the ball in Foster's direction.
It didn't come close to hitting Foster but DeRozan was T'd up and ejected, as he should have been, and on Sunday he was fined $25,000 by the NBA.
DeRozan said after:
"Frustration," is how DeRozan explained his emotions in the moment. "I thought it was a bad call. A combination of both."
The $25K fine seems light to me, and let me explain. I'm all for guys being allowed to voice their frustrations with a ref, especially in a playoff game. Emotions should be allowed to come out since there's so much on the line in these games.
But throwing something at a ref seems a little much, though it was a bit comical to see.
This seems like a much higher level of disrespect than dropping an F-bomb or whatever other bad word one might choose to yell at a ref. And no, I'm not soft. It's just something that trails getting physical with a ref, even though the ball didn't hit Foster. And those things can't happen. The intent was there and that's what needs to be punished, because guys can't just start firing balls at refs.
As much as many fans would love to see that.
$25K is pennies to just about any player in the NBA.
A one-game suspension should have been the play, along with a bigger fine.
I just think it crossed a line and the NBA had a chance to stick up for its refs.
Instead, they asked for some change and went on their way.
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