NBA Fines Dallas Mavericks’ Owner Mark Cuben $500k

Mark Cuban

NBA Fines Dallas Mavericks’ Owner Mark Cuban $500k

The NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban a half a million dollars on Friday (March 6th), for his alleged “public criticism and detrimental conduct regarding NBA officiating”. According to reports, the fine is in reference to his public criticism questioning officials due to the Maverick’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks in February.

The NBA announced in a statement on Friday that Cuban’s comments were “highly critical.” The league says it holds all of the NBA’s front office staff to a higher standard,

“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.”

In addition to fining Cuban, the NBA sent a memo to all teams reminding them of rules that govern conduct of owners, coaches and other team personnel during games.

During the Hawks and Mavs game on February 22nd, the referees originally called goaltending on Atlanta’s Trae Young layup, but after the whistle was blown John Collins laid the ball in. After a review, the play was overturned by officials, saying it was not a goaltend, but that Collins basket still stood because of continuation rules. The league ultimately determined that was the correct call.

During Cuban’s appearance on SiriusXM NBA radio, he said that even if the Mavericks won the petition, they would weigh their options on if they wanted to replay the final nine seconds.

“I think we tell them that if it didn’t impact the playoff standings, we don’t care if we replay it or not, because there’d be no point to it. But if it comes out the way we hope it will, they’ll start the game from the 9.5 seconds left to go with a center-court jump ball and Mavs down by two.”

This is Cuban’s third fine of $500,000 as the Mavs owner. He was last fined $600,000 in February 2018 for saying “losing is our best option” on a podcast with Hall of Famer Julius Erving and admitting that the Mavericks had been tanking for more than a year. He was fined $500,000 in January 2002 for comments on officiating after a loss to the Spurs.

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