The NBA fined Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy $25,000 for "public criticism of officiating," it was announced Monday.
Van Gundy made his comments about Cleveland star LeBron James during an in-game interview with ABC sideline reporter Lisa Salters in Detroit's 106-101 loss to the Cavs on Sunday.
"A couple calls have upset our guys," Van Gundy told Salters between the first and second quarters. "They've got to understand, LeBron's LeBron. They're not going to call offensive fouls on him. He gets to do whatever he wants. They've got to understand that."
In the first half, Van Gundy and Pistons guard Reggie Jackson pleaded with referee Zach Zarba to call a foul on James for pushing off with his forearm.
Following the game, Van Gundy tried to smooth over his comments about the refs.
“I thought it evened out really well," he said. "Early on, I thought there were two pretty obvious offensive fouls down there on him. But that’s two calls in an entire game. After that, refereeing had nothing to do with (Sunday's game). They did a good job. It went both ways. I thought they did a really good job. It was decided by the players on the floor, as it should be.”
But it was too late. The NBA took notice of the initial comment and made Van Gundy pay.
