Skip to content

Pop endorses higher fines for disrupting play

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Count Gregg Popovich as a supporter of the NBA punishing a tendency among some coaches and players to try to disrupt on-court action from the bench.

“It’s unsportsmanlike, it’s childish, it’s inappropriate,” the Spurs coach said Saturday, according to the San Antonio Express News' Jeff McDonald. "There’s no place for it."

Speaking in the wake of the Washington Wizards being fined $15,000 and assistant Sidney Lowe $5,000 for an episode Thursday in New York, Pop believes penalties should be harsher.

Related: NBA reportedly reminds coaches to stay off court during games

"I think they got off easy," he said. "What if that shot costs a playoff game because somebody does that?" Popovich continued. "Maybe that affects a coach being fired. Maybe a franchise winning a series. So if you think about it, maybe it’s worth it for five or 10 thousand to go do that."

Knicks guard Courtney Lee peripherally mistook Lowe, standing completely in play, to be a Wizards defender. It's also a staple of the NBA to have players sitting at the end of benches attempting to verbally distract opponents on the floor. As a result, Popovich wants even steeper fines.

"Everybody would sit their ass down," he said.

"I've been moaning and groaning about it for a decade, about everybody standing up on the bench when somebody shoots a three," he added. "If you were at your kid's junior high game, you’d tell the kids to sit down and behave themselves. So why do we get to get up and do that kind of crap?"

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox