Chris Paul has been fined $25,000 for his public criticism of Lauren Holtkamp, the first-year referee who called a technical foul against the Los Angeles Clippers star point guard earlier this week. The NBA announced the fine Saturday, two days after Paul sounded off on Holtkamp following the Clippers’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I seriously hope the league is fining Paul for his comments in general and not because they felt he disrespected the official because she is a woman.
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“Some of [the technical fouls] were ridiculous,” Paul said. “The tech that I get right there was ridiculous. I don’t care what nobody says, I don’t care what she says; that’s terrible. There’s no way that can be a tech. We try to get the ball out fast every time down the court, and when we did that, she said, ‘Uh-uh.’ I said, ‘Why, uh-uh?’ And she gave me a tech.
“That’s ridiculous. If that’s the case, this might not be for her.”
The comments sparked debate over whether Paul was being disrespectful of Holtkamp based on her gender, prompting a rebuke Friday from the NBA referees union.
CP3 was quick to shoot down any talk of sexism the following day as he repeatedly said it was just about a bad call the following day. Honestly if what Paul said is true about the reasoning for him getting a technical foul then she should be looked at by the league, but of course we don’t know how true his version is, but on the play in question he definitely didn’t appear to do or say anything wrong.
