National Basketball Association

John Wall fined for 'inappropriate interaction' with a referee, avoids suspension

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:45 p.m. ET

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Brett Pollakoff

Near the end of Monday night's loss to the Rockets, John Wall made contact with a referee as he exited the court, appeared to have some words for the official, and was handed his second technical foul of the evening which came with an automatic ejection.

The lead official explained his reasoning to a pool reporter afterward, because the interaction didn't look like all that much.

The rulebook states that "any player or coach guilty of intentional physical contact with an official shall automatically be suspended without pay for one game," so there was at least a possibility that Wall could have been sidelined for Wednesday's game against the Celtics. But the league opted for a fine instead.

"Washington Wizards guard John Wall has been fined $25,000 for inappropriate interaction with a game official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations."

Again, the interaction didn't seem to be all that severe, and we've certainly seen worse. But since a player made contact with an official and followed up with inappropriate language, the league had no choice but to hand down some form of punishment.

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