The NBA obviously has its own courts, but does it have proper cause to punish Brooklyn Nets head coach (and former point guard) Jason Kidd who was fined $50,000 for spilling a beverage at the game with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets were down two with only 8.3 seconds left but had no timeouts. Worse still, Lakers’ Jodie Meeks was on the free-throw line. Then it happened. A fortuitous spill that delayed the game long enough for the Nets to devise a plan. It did not help. They lost 99-94 and . . . of course $50,000.
The primary piece of evidence is the video below where Kidd appears to tell Tyshawn Taylor to “hit me.” He does, the drink spills, and the game is delayed. Kidd insisted that it was just butterfingers: “Cup slipped out of my hand while I was getting Ty. Sweaty palms. I was never good with the ball. In the heat of the battle, you’re trying to get guys in and out of the game, and the cup fell out of my hand.” Taylor also insisted that it was entirely innocent: “I was just coming out, and he was in my way. ‘Coach, get out of my way, bro.'”
But what about the words that seem to precede the “Great Spill of 2013”? If it is not “hit me,” what would a good defense attorney suggest as an alternative? Here are my suggestions:
1. “Hold me” as a cry for help and comfort from Taylor.
2. “Date me” as a come on to Taylor (this would of course add a different dimension to the controversy)
3. “F–K me” in response to the pending loss ( or at least to its aftermath)
Well you be your own judge.
Well, it seems premeditated. The question is did Kidd dream this up himself, or is it something he learned long ago from one of his coaches?
Wow is me…
I have been to some bars with the same rule.
Why else would a coach walk into the field of play (in this case the b-ball court) with a drink in his hand BUT to spill it and stop the time so that the ball boys can clean it up while he ‘coaches’ the team on the field of play?
Kidd intentionally spilled the drink to get the “free” time out. Bad decision and it should cost him. As Mike S. stated above, he was a great point guard but he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar this time.
I think the $50K fine applies whether it is intentional or not (so as to focus the teams on not spilling drinks on the court). Basketball takes time stoppages at the end of a game seriously (i.e. assessing a timeout for injuries). I think they should have been given a technical foul for the spill as they were out of timeouts.
Since it does indeed seem to have been premeditated, I think a suspension would have been more appropriate.
Jason Kidd was one of the smartest player I’ve ever seen play the game and as for his sweaty palms it doesn’t gibe with his legendary ball-handling skills.
This was intentional and it was extremely clever. I would have fined him also because ploys like that just aren’t legal in pro basketball.
It’s the pointed looking away from the player after the words “hit me” as the glass is raised to chest level then stops its apparent progress to the mouth that cinches it for me. Many a five year old has tried that trick with me as unwanted vegetables get fed to the dog. “But moooom (or grandmaaa), I was putting this big bite of vegetables in my mouth when the dog jumped up out of nowhere and grabbed them right off my spoon!”
From a six year old the behavior is irritating; from an adult bent on winning at all costs, it’s creepy.
Several years ago, I was at the Bristol Motor Speedway for the spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race. It was a daytime race. As the race neared it end, Earnhardt, Jr. was slowly falling behind and really needed to make a pit stop for fresh tires. Suddenly he spun out between turns one and two. Never hit anything….the car just spun around. Of course, that brought out the caution.
One thing Junior forgot. NASCAR officials monitor team radio communications. Many people in the stands also listen in with scanners, as do the TV broadcast producers. Junior told his crew chief he had no choice but to spin to bring out the caution, because he absolutely needed a pit stop.
For non-racing fans, the caution light freezes positions on the track, so everyone can make a pit stop without falling behind. That’s even more important at Bristol, where lap times are about fifteen seconds and a pit stop will put a car behind several laps, which can never be made up in the limited time left in the race. That little stunt cost Junior and his team more than pocket change.
Knowing Kidd I’m surprised it wasn’t a beer.