Chris Paul Fined $25K: Are you serious?

The NBA has fined Chris Paul $25,000 for comments he made about referee Lauren Holtkamp in reference to a technical foul he received in the game. Because Holtkamp is obviously a woman, a lot of people have suggested that Chris Paul’s comments towards her may be a little sexist. Paul assures that it’s not.

“It was about a bad call,” Paul said. Several times actually.

According to Paul the technical foul came after he tried to inbounds the ball early after a made basket. This is something a lot of teams do, especially ones like the Clippers who do well in an uptempo style of play. Some refs don’t mind you doing it, as it speeds up the game and makes for a more exciting product. Holtkamp I guess isn’t a fan of it.

“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.”

Before I get into what I think about the situation, let me make it clear that I don’t think Holtkamp is a bad referee. I actually think she’s pretty qualified considering she’s been a ref in FIBA, WNBA, and NBADL games for a number of years. She obviously isn’t afraid or star struck by making calls on the biggest stage. But, the other part of me knows that she’s a rookie ref for NBA games, and that she’s obviously a woman.

Now I’m not saying she’s sensitive, or emotional, or any of those things. I don’t know her personally, so I wouldn’t know. What I do think is that when a woman is put into a position like her, where she is asked to monitor and control grown men who are much larger and stronger than her, you might get a bitch. I know times have changed where women are looked at more equal than ever, but there definitely is still this mindset in place that when it comes to pro sports, men are the rulers. My guess is Holtkamp wanted to flex a little bit just to show she’s not to be disrespected. That’s probably what she was thinking, but her reaction would have been better suited for something a little bit more vulgar or offensive in my opinion.

In her defense, I don’t know Chris Paul. What I do know is that he might be one of the most competitive people in the NBA inside those lines. But he’s also the President of the NBA Players Association. I mean, this is the best guy out of all the guys in the NBA and we’re saying he might be sexist? Considering Chris Paul has never had any off the court incidents, problems in college, or high school, I have trouble believing he’s sexist. When you see photos of Chris he’s usually with his wife and son. To the public, he looks like a really nice guy. Except on the court. That’s where he looks like he’s a jerk, but not just to women. Players, fans, referees, hell if the ball boy said something I bet Chris Paul would say something back. He’s competitive.

Overall I’m sure Lauren Holtkamp’s tone was, “I don’t care who you are, this is my game, we’re playing by my rules. #NoFlexZone.”

Chris Paul’s tone probably sounded like “I’m the President of the NBAPA, do you know who you’re talking to right now rookie?”

Then the technical foul. I don’t think this will hurt Chris Paul’s marketing ability at all, but luckily Adam Silver is the Commissioner otherwise David Stern probably would have gave a $35,000 fine.