NBA Fines Rudy Gobert $100k For His 'Money' Gesture To The Refs On Friday

Rudy Gobert knew he’d get heavily fined for calling out the refs on Friday. But I bet he didn’t think the cost would be as high as it turned out to be.

In the waning seconds of a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Minnesota Timberwolves center fouled out of the game. It was a relatively soft call at a crucial time, and heavily contributed to the Timberwolves eventual 113-104 loss in overtime.

Gobert (27) did not like the officials' call that forced him out of the game. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

After learning he fouled out, Rudy Gobert was incredibly frustrated. But he didn’t yell at any of the officials on the court, he simply did the "money" gesture with his hands. He was of course implying that the refs were bought off by a third party, and as a result made the terrible call.

Here’s the entire sequence.

To add insult to injury, Gobert also received a technical foul.

After the game, Gobert did not apologize for his actions. Instead, he stood by them and implied that sports betting may have influenced the call.

"Mistakes happen. Referees make mistakes, too. Sometimes I think it's more than mistakes. And I'm gonna stay at that," Gobert said. "I think everyone that's in this league knows. And I think it's got to get better. I'll bite the bullet again. I'll be the bad guy again that speaks what I think is the truth…I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn't feel that way."

The NBA Enforced A Heavy Fine On Rudy Gobert For His Actions

Frankly, he’s probably not entirely wrong. Refs could find ways to bet on the game, and therefore make calls to benefit themselves (or other invested bettors).

The league, of course, did force Gobert to bite the bullet, to the tune of $100,000. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, this is the largest fine the NBA can level on a player for "conduct detrimental to the game."

"The fine takes into account Gobert’s past instances of conduct detrimental to the NBA with regard to publicly criticizing the officiating," the league said in a statement.

If Gobert truly wants to help reform NBA officiating, he might want to find a different way to do it. Getting fined $100k is not a sustainable way to bring about change.