Raptors' VanVleet picks up hefty fine for swear-filled referee rant

Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet is looking a little lighter in the pocketbook today.

On Thursday, the NBA announced that VanVleet had been fined $30,000 for an expletive-filled tirade during his post-game press conference a night prior.

The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/O7CmcTSGun

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) March 10, 2023

Following the Raptors’ 108-100 to Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers last night, VanVleet was heavily critical of the state of NBA officiating, including calling out referee Ben Taylor in particular, who awarded him with a technical foul during the game.

“I don’t mind, I’ll take a fine. I thought Ben Taylor was f***ing terrible tonight,” VanVleet told the media in his post-game press conference. “I think that most nights, you know out of the three, there’s one or two that just f*** the game up.”

VanVleet also suggested that Taylor might have had a personal bias against him, calling three technical fouls against him this season.

I looked it up.

This season, Ben Taylor has officiated in 6 games that Fred VanVleet has played in. VanVleet has received a tech in 4 of those games, including 2 on Nov. 30th.

Taylor has directly called him for a tech in 3 of the 6 games. https://t.co/FVMNApWFl8

— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) March 9, 2023

“You can look it up: Most of my techs this year have been with Ben Taylor officiating. So at a certain point as a player, you feel it’s personal and it’s never a good place to be. That’s not why we lost tonight, we got outplayed, but it definitely makes it tougher to overcome,” VanVleet added.

VanVleet has averaged 19.3 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 55 games this season.

“No one’s coming to see that s***. They come to see the players,” VanVleet continued. “I think we’re losing a little bit of the fabric of what the NBA is and was and it’s been disappointing this season.”

The Raptors remain in Los Angeles, as they take on the Lakers on Friday night. Tipoff for that game is set at 10:30 pm ET.

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