Updated 10:51 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

Bucks Coach Jason Kidd Suspended For Knocking Out Ball From Ref's Hands During Game vs Sacramento Kings

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After knocking out the ball from a referee on Wednesday night in a game versus the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks' coach. Jason Kidd, was suspended for one game by the NBA.

ESPN explained that the decision was meant to discipline the 42-year-old coach and former basketball player for "aggressively pursuing and confronting a game official, slapping the ball out of his hands and not leaving the court in a timely manner upon his ejection," as per  Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations.

The league's statement added that Kidd was assessed with committing a technical foul and ejected for the remaining minutes of the match.

During the Bucks' loss to the Kings on Wednesday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Kidd was taken out of the game with 1:49 left on the clock after he slapped the ball out from the hands of referee Zach Zarba's hand.

ESPN added that shooting guard O.J. Mayo and an assistant coach had to restrain him prior to escorting him to the locker room.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks coach explained that he was just trying to protect his players. "I walked all the way down to get a timeout, and then we had our discussion. He gave me the T," said Kidd.

"From there, I'm trying to protect my guys. Understanding we felt we were getting fouled and the whistle wasn't being blown. What happens in this league, you have to stand up for yourself, and my job is to protect those young guys," he added in the ESPN report.

According to Yahoo Sports, the incident came happened to occur on the second year anniversary of the time when Kidd, who was the coach of the Brooklyn Nets back then, asked his player, Tyshawn Taylor, "to knock a drink out of his hands" just to secure a timeout in the team's match against the Los Angeles Lakers.

And because of this recent suspension, Kidd missed his team's 114-90 loss to the Orlando Magic Friday night.

Meanwhile, USA Today said this suspension also came four days after the National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) expressed frustration that the league did not suspend Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer for getting into the court and bumping into referee Ben Taylor during an ongoing game.

The NBA fined the Hawks' coach with $25,000, but he was not suspended because the contact was labeled as "incidental." Additionally, Budenholzer claims that he has already apologized to Taylor.

"Recent League precedent dictated that a coach who aggressively charged onto the floor during live action and physically interfered with a Referee would be suspended," NBRA general counsel Lee Seham was quoted by USA Today as saying.

He added that the NBA seems to be operating at a lower level with degraded safety and less respect for the game. "Coaches should compete by creating better teams, not by physically intimidating officials," Seham added.

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