Mark Cuban Hit With Gigantic Fine for Battling Refs in Mavericks' Loss to Hawks
By Michael Luciano
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is not afraid to let NBA referees or the league itself know exactly what he is thinking at any given moment in time, and that mindset has cost him financially once again.
Cuban was fined $500,000 for his attacks on referees both in person after a Mavericks loss and on Twitter. In addition, his request to have the final seconds of a February 22 loss to the Atlanta Hawks replayed was denied.
ESPN Sources: NBA has fined Mark Cuban $500K -- and rejected the Dallas Mavericks petition to replay the final seconds of a Feb. 22 loss to Atlanta. Cuban assailed league’s officiating leadership and system in a tirade — and twice went on court in final minutes to confront refs.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 6, 2020
Cuban filed a protest after Dallas' loss to Trae Young and the Hawks, as he claims the refs awarded Atlanta center John Collins a basket via goaltending that should not have counted if the rules were properly applied.
The league was unmoved by his appeals.
The @NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, $500K for “public criticism and conduct detrimental” for his comments made after the controversial loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Here is the NBA’s statement on the matter: pic.twitter.com/khS5zwqBgZ
— TrashTalk Sports (@TrashTalk_Media) March 6, 2020
Not only did NBA Commissioner Adam Silver claim that the rules were properly enforced and the Collins basket was correctly counted, but he criticized Cuban, who often sits courtside, for coming onto the floor to argue with the officials.
This is not Cuban's first behavior-related fine, and it likely won't be his last.
The publicly known fine total for Cuban's 20 years and two months of Mavericks ownership is $3,115,000 ... but not all NBA fines are announced by the league
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 6, 2020
Cuban might have lost his protest battle and suffered a minor ding to the wallet, but Cuban is worth $4.3 billion, so he probably isn't losing sleep over it.