Sacramento Kings coach fined $50,000 for criticizing refs

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown reacts during the second half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on January 10, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.| Photo by Jared C. Tilton / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Los Angeles, United States —Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown was fined $50,000 by the NBA on Tuesday after confronting a game official during the Kings’ 143-142 overtime loss at Milwaukee and criticizing the officiating after the game.

The NBA said in a statement that Brown was fined “for aggressively pursuing a game official during live play,” the actions that got Brown tossed on Sunday when he vociferously protested a non-call when he thought De’Aaron Fox had been fouled.

Brown was still yelling as Kings guard Malik Monk wrapped his arms around him and shepherded him from the court, and after the game Brown used a laptop to show reporters at the post-game press conference the officiating inconsistencies that got him so steamed.

“I just want to show you guys why I got kicked out of the game,” Brown said before beginning his laptop presentation, showing different calls in the game and explaining it wasn’t just one call that angered him but what he saw as a lack of consistency in applying the rules.

“To me, as a coach … I’m OK as a coach because the referees are human and they’re going to make mistakes, but you just hope: A) There’s some sort of consistency; B) There’s some sort of communication between the refs. Tonight, the refs were great. They communicated with me all night, but in terms of the consistency, you guys saw it right here,” he said.

The Bucks won the game on Damian Lillard’s buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime after the Kings had forced the extra session on Fox’s driving layup with a second left in regulation.

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