Blake Griffin fined $15,000 for ‘verbal abuse of a game official’
Blake Griffin has been fined $15,000 for “verbal abuse of a game official,” Kiki VanDeWeghe, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations, announced Thursday.
The incident occurred following the Detroit Pistons’ 100-94 loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Griffin approached a referee upon the game’s conclusion, and video appears to show him using profanity during the animated confrontation.
This is the exchange for which Blake Griffin was fined. He appears to tell the ref to “f— off." pic.twitter.com/xtAEHin8VK
— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) January 17, 2019
Monday’s incident was not Griffin’s first run-in with a game official this season, though the previous one was much more whimsical in tone.
The Pistons superstar approached official J.T. Orr during a loss to the Indiana Pacers in late December to discuss what he viewed as a missed call. Evidently getting nowhere, Griffin commandeered an iPad to plead his case.
Blake Griffin used a tablet to argue a call with a ref pic.twitter.com/B3jxNvv8BC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 29, 2018
Suffice to say, Griffin was not subjected to a fine for this interaction with an official.
