Steve Kerr fined for language towards referees

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for verbal abuse towards referees during the team’s 111-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. The fine is also the result of Kerr failing to leave the court quickly enough following his ejection.

The sixth-year coach was ejected late in the first half of the game, after Kings guard De’Aaron Fox was granted a continuation call that Kerr deemed overly generous. According to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Kerr yelled to referee Jason Goldenberg, “Wake your ass up! Wake your ass up! Let’s go! Wake up! Wake up! Wake the f— up!”

Kerr was quickly given two technical fouls, resulting in an automatic ejection. But after getting thrown out, he lingered on the court for a while to get his money’s worth, hurling a few more words in Goldenberg’s direction. The words said during that time are likely what forced the issue of the fine, as the severity of the initial sentiment is somewhat commonplace in the NBA (for better or for worse).

It will be interesting to see if Kerr has a comment about the fine. He had been ejected two previous times while coaching the Warriors, and has, in the past, expressed remorse at his treatment towards referees, citing that the competitive nature of the games sometimes leads to him not treating officials like humans.

The Warriors loss to the Kings was their fifth consecutive defeat, following a surprising four-game winning streak. They’ll try and get back in the winning column tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, who sport the league’s best record.