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Kings' De'Aaron Fox fined $20,000 for criticizing officials

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Apr 12, 2021 7:23 PM ET

Sacramento Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox had some unkind words for what he perceived to be questionable officiating during Saturday's 128-112 loss to the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena.

That is a no-no, per NBA rules, and the Association fined Fox $20,000 for the crime.

After the game, cameras picked up Utah's Donovan Mitchell attempting to keep Fox away from the officials:

Mitchell couldn't stand between Fox and microphones after the game.

"If you're going to call something on one end, call it on the other end," Fox said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "And if somebody is trying to talk to you, you can't get your feelings [hurt] so quick to where it's not even a hostile conversation and you're saying, 'Don't talk to [me]' and this and this and that and that. I mean, you're coming down guessing on plays."

Mitchell recorded 17 free-throw attempts in the Utah win, while Fox visited the charity stripe on only six occasions. Regardless of anybody's feelings about those stats, every player knows he can't criticize officiating without ultimately attaching a check to those comments.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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