Jason Kidd believes the media is to blame for the three fines the Dallas Mavericks have received this postseason for their bench misconduct.
“If you want to talk about the bench, we can talk about the bench, that’s on you,” Kidd said before Game 3. “We don’t talk about the bench. You guys did the article on the bench and that’s how we started getting fined because you brought light to it. So you guys should be paying the fine.
“So the media is at fault here. But we don’t complain and that’s the truth. We lose with class and we win with class and that’s what we’re about.”
This comes on the heels of a $100,000 fine from the NBA “regarding bench decorum” during Game 2. During their series vs. the Suns, the Mavs were fined $25K and 50K on two separate occasions for crowding the court.
This latest fine seems to have stemmed from an incident in Game 2, when Stephen Curry passed the ball out of bounds because Theo Pinson, wearing white that matched the Warriors’ uniforms, was standing up off the bench with his hand raised.
Here was Kidd’s somewhat confusing take on the situation after the first fine was levied following Game 2 of the Mavs-Suns series.
“I didn’t know about the fine, but that’s cool,” Kidd said. “The league is worried about the wrong thing. You have millionaires cheering on other millionaires. Doesn’t happen in this society. And the enthusiasm of the game, for a teammate to cheer on another teammate is special. And I think sometimes we’re focused on the wrong thing. And so when you look at people who make a lot of money cheering on their teammates or their employees, that’s what sport is all about. And so for us to get fined, that’s cool. It’s going to another good cause, charity. But again, we’re looking at the wrong thing.”