J.R. Smith fined $50,000 for shoelace-untying incidents
There was a lot of uncertainty regarding whether or not the NBA would fine J.R. Smith for untying Shawn Marion's shoelace before a free throw was taken on Sunday night, and then attempting to do the same thing to Greg Monroe on Tuesday.
Well, it turns out the NBA isn't a big fan of Smith's seemingly harmless actions:
Knicks guard J.R. Smith was fined $50,000 for recurring instances of unsportsmanlike conduct for trying to untie an opponent's shoelace.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 8, 2014
As the NBA indicates in their official statement, Smith was warned not to repeat "conduct of this nature" after initially untying Marion's shoelace. And two days later, he was at it again.
Following a feud with Pistons guard Brandon Jennings earlier in the season, Smith was fined $25,000 by the league for "directing hostile and inappropriate language to another player via his Twitter account." He was also suspended for the first five games of the seasons after violating the terms of the league's anti-drug program.
But none of this is surprising considering Smith's history in the NBA:
J.R. Smith has been fined for: Twitter comments, twitter photos, yelling at Mark Cuban, flagrant fouls, flopping and, now, untying shoes.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 8, 2014
JR Smith's suspensions in career: 5 games for drugs, 1 for elbow, 7 for reckless driving, 10 for fighting, 3 for conduct detrimental
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 8, 2014