The NBA has fined the Dallas Mavericks $25,000 for the tweets of its public address announcer Sean Heath criticizing the officiating after the Mavericks' 122-120 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors last April 1.
Three tweets made by Heath were directed to the league's official Twitter account, and per ESPN, the most inflammatory of which suggested that games like that of the Mavericks-Warrior show why the NBA has a "reputation that the games are rigged."
Heath was earlier suspended for two games by the league office after his tweets, but it was found that the PA announcer is a contract worker and thus not part of the Mavericks organization.
According to ESPN, league spokesman Tim Frank addressed the issue through email saying: "Several disciplinary options were discussed but ultimately we decided to be consistent with past practice on violations of game operations staff."
ESPN also reported that the Mavericks were informed of Heath's suspension for two games on Thursday and the team appealed that the suspension be delayed until Saturday so that the organization can find a suitable replacement for the PA announcer.
The game was controversial for the no-call on Warriors center Jermaine O'Neal's block on Mavericks guard Monta Ellis. The next day, the league office acknowledged that there should have been a goaltending call on O'Neal when he blocked what could have been a game-winning shot by Ellis with 16 seconds left in overtime.
Said Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki on that no-call per ESPN: "I think his layup has a chance to get to the rim, and if that's the case, you can't just get it out of the air," Nowitzki said. "To me, that's a goaltend. I asked the referees what happened. The explanation was that the ball was two feet short. If that's the case, then he can get it out of the air, but where I was from, I think it had a chance to at least hit the rim. That's a goaltend to me."
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