Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was not having any of it following Wednesday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
After the defeat, VanVleet took public umbrage at the officiating in Southern California. In particular, he pointed a finger at official Ben Taylor in an expletive-laden rant from the podium post-game.
"I don’t mind, I’ll take a fine, I don’t really care. I thought Ben Taylor was f**king terrible tonight," VanVleet said.
Predictably, VanVleet’s prediction of a fine came to fruition, with the NBA announcing Thursday evening that Raptors star had been fined $30,000.
Typically, penalties involving criticism of the officiating tend to top out at $35,000, meaning VanVleet was really, really pushing some buttons. Part of the issue may have been that the guard's rant went on for a healthy stretch.
"Most of the refs are trying hard. I like a lot of the refs, they’re trying hard, they’re pretty fair, they communicate well," VanVleet continued, "And then you got the other ones who just want to be d***s and it just kind of f***s the game up."
Some of this can probably be chalked up to frustration. VanVleet and the Raptors have played up-and-down ball to this juncture and currently sit at the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference, floundering about under .500 with a 32-35 record.
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