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Magic's Howard fined for blog rant at refs

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Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) smiles in the second half against the Charlotte Bobcats during Game 4 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series in Charlotte, North Carolina April 26, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Miczek

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) smiles in the second half against the Charlotte Bobcats during Game 4 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series in Charlotte, North Carolina April 26, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Jason Miczek

NEW YORK | Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:20pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dwight Howard became the latest victim of the National Basketball Association's tough stance against criticizing game officials as the league handed the Orlando Magic center a $35,000 fine on Wednesday.

Howard, a four-times All-Star and the first overall pick by Orlando in the 2004 draft, was fined for public criticism of officiating that appeared on his personal blog on April 27, the league said in a statement.

"I'm not looking to say anything to get myself in trouble with the league, but I just don't see other star players getting called for fouls the way I get them," Howard wrote in a April 27 post. (www.dwighthoward.com/blog/). "No star player in the league is outta games the way I am."

David Stern, commissioner of the NBA, said recently he would not only fine but consider suspending players or coaches from playoff games for speaking negatively about referees.

A number of players and coaches have been fined in recent weeks for publicly criticizing game officials.

(Writing by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Patrick Johnston)
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Comments (1)
madetobebroken wrote:
I think the NBA needs consistant rule enforcement and not rules as imposed by the wims of the refs. How can the defensive player of the year be flagged for all those fouls when he is playing the way he played all year? Who’s paying these refs? And the Commissioner? Are they all blind?

Apr 28, 2010 11:10pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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