The largest amount ever for a coach in the NBA.
http://s****ts.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpZmFlcXBpBF9TAzk1ODYxOTQ4BHNlYwN0aA--?slug=ap-rockets-vangundyfined&prov=ap&type=lgns
Van Gundy fined $100,000 for comments about refs, Cuban
By JAIME ARON, AP S****ts Writer
May 2, 2005
DALLAS (AP) -- The NBA fined Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy
$100,000 -- the largest amount ever for a coach -- on Monday, a day
after accusing officials of targeting center Yao Ming this postseason
and saying Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is to blame.
Speaking to three re****ters at the team hotel in Dallas on Sunday night,
Van Gundy said a referee not working the playoffs called him and warned
that officials ``were looking at Yao harder because of Mark's
complaints'' to the league office. He said that Cuban ``has been hard on
them,'' and ``he's gotten the benefit.''
``I didn't think that really worked in the NBA, but in this case it
has,'' Van Gundy said, declining to identify the official he spoke to.
At a shootaround Monday before Game 5 of the series, Van Gundy said: ``I
stand by what I said. I believe it. I know what was told to me, and I've
seen how it played out.''
That was hours before the fine was announced. At the time, Van Gundy
said he'd only been told not to say anything more about it.
``I didn't expect them to come out and say it was true, though,'' Van
Gundy said.
The series was tied at two games each going into Monday's fifth game,
which was to be attended by NBA commissioner David Stern.
Van Gundy said he got a call from his friend who is an official after
Houston took a 2-0 lead. The coach said he was told the targeting of Yao
was mentioned in an online evaluation from supervisor of officials
Ronnie Nunn.
``No such directive was given to the officials regarding Yao Ming or any
other player or team in the playoffs,'' NBA vice president Stu Jackson
said in a statement released late Sunday to re****ters from KRIV-TV, The
New York Times and the Houston Chronicle, the three media outlets
present when Van Gundy made his comments.
Cuban, who has been fined more than $1 million since buying the team
five years ago, said in an e-mail that the accusations were ``crazy''
and ``an insult to officials.'' He also noted that Dallas center Erick
Dampier has picked up quick fouls in every game in this series.
``They don't officiate individual players differently,'' Cuban wrote.
Cuban said the team sent the league a list of plays it thought should've
been called moving screens on Yao and backup Dikembe Mutombo. He said
the league responded that ``nine were actually moving screens and should
have been called but were not.''
``So if anything, he has it completely backward,'' Cuban said.
Yao fouled out of Game 1 in 20 minutes. He had four fouls in Game 2,
when he made 13 of 14 shots and scored 33 points, then had five fouls in
each of the last two games.
Dampier fouled out of Game 4 in 18 minutes. He had five fouls in 19
minutes of Game 3.
Both coaches in this series have been fined. Dallas' Avery Johnson was
penalized $10,000 for his postgame confrontation with official Joey
Crawford following Game 1.
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