NBA fines Kevin Durant $15K for criticizing official after ejection
Thursday was a big news day for Kevin Durant.
The Golden State forward found out he’s going to play alongside LeBron James and against Warriors teammate Stephen Curry in next month’s NBA All-Star Game after apparently being the first pick in the All-Star draft.
He also found out that he’s going to be $15,000 lighter. The NBA announced on Thursday that it is fining Durant for his postgame outburst at official James Williams, whom he accused of targeting him for a pair of technical fouls and ejection during Golden State’s win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
”Second half, his whole thing was like he’s trying to get me,” Durant said of Williams on Tuesday. “He was searching for me, he’s looking to try to tech me up to get me back because he’s still got his feelings hurt from the first half.”
Durant had a change of heart and apologized on Wednesday for his outburst at Williams.
“I wasn’t getting picked on last night,” Durant said. “I was being a diva last night. I’ve got to just own up to it. I watched it when I got home. I was wondering why he was coming at me so hard but then I watched the plays I was like, ‘Yeah, I looked like a jerk out there.'”
The NBA Referees Association tweeted on Thursday that it accepted Durant’s apology.
Apology accepted. This is the kind of common ground we hope to achieve when the NBRA meets with @TheNBPA next month: https://t.co/gyuNZ53u9f
— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) January 25, 2018
Apology or not, Durant couldn’t escape his paycheck getting docked.
