Because of foul trouble, Kirk Hinrich was limited to 19 minutes of play in Game 1 of the Bulls/Heat series. After being called for an offensive foul away from the ball, Hinrich launched his mouthpiece into the stands ... and right about now, he wishes he hadn't.I hope it was cathartic for him, because today, the NBA touched him up to the tune of $25,000 for it. That's pretty steep, but you know what? I'm alright with it. Sure, it's an object that probably can't do any serious damage to anyone ... but I'm going to go ahead and side with the NBA's punishment czar on this one. $25,000 seems about right to me.
It's just my own personal preference, but if I go to an NBA game, I'd like the chances of coming home with any of Kirk Hinrich's saliva on me to be about nil. The choice of whether or not I go home with Kirk Hinrich's saliva on me should be mine, and not Kirk Hinrich's, and anything that he puts in his mouth, I'd just assume not come in contact with. Call me old-fashioned, but that's what I believe.
(Photo credit: David Dow, Getty Images)
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
That sounds about right -- Udonis Haslem got a one-game suspension for throwing his mouthpiece at a ref, and players usually get a $5k fine for throwing the ball, so this seems about in-between. Personally I would have been honored to have been hit with the mouthguard, but, yeah, you're old fashioned.