Charles Barkley Thinks NBA Was Too Easy On Rudy Gobert After Giving Him $100K Fine For Money Gesture
Charles Barkley thinks the NBA let Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert off easy for his "money" gesture towards referees in a game on March 8.
In the closing minutes of a tightly contested game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, officials called Gobert for a questionable sixth foul, thus disqualifying him from the game.
The big man clearly did not like the call, and therefore decided to flash the "money" gesture towards the referees as a result.
Here’s the full sequence.
To punish Gobert for this incident, the NBA fined him $100,000, which is the highest possible fine a player can receive for "conduct detrimental to the game."
The NBA clearly stated how it viewed Gobert’s actions, and dealt out the heaviest allowable punishment for it. I think this situation was dealt with sufficiently.
But Barkley doesn’t think so.
Barkley Thought The NBA Should Have Done More To Punish Gobert
"The Round Mound of Rebound" decided to bring up how the NBA handled this situation on Friday’s broadcast of "Inside the NBA." Barkley believes that in addition to the $100k fine, Gobert should have been forced to sit out a few games to help fans believe that games aren’t rigged.
"The one thing we can never do in sports, ever, is make people think (the game) is…fixed," Barkley said. "If we ever get to the point, any sport, if they found out, it would ruin the sport. It would ruin the sport if people thought it was fixed. They fined Luka Dončić, they had fined Rudy Gobert before, I thought they should have suspended him."
"Sir Charles’" suggestion for punishment would not have achieved the outcome he wants. If the league had fined and suspended Gobert, that frankly would have increased suspicion that the Timberwolves big man might have been on to something (which he still might be, to be honest).
And remember, this wasn’t a $5,000 slap on the wrist. This was the maximum allowable amount for something of this nature. The league did more than enough to send a strong message to Gobert.
If Barkley wants to ensure that spectators can have faith in the integrity of the NBA's product, then he should advocate for more consistent officiating from referees. Calling for the league to give Gobert a double portion of consequences does not achieve that goal.