Lonestar
12-28-2005, 02:13 PM
By Mike Wells
[email protected]
DALLAS -- Indiana Pacers small forward Stephen Jackson was fined $20,000 by the NBA on Monday for making an obscene gesture after he was ejected in the final seconds of Friday's loss at Cleveland.
"I'm appealing that because I didn't shoot a finger," Jackson said before Monday's game at Dallas. "I know how to shoot a finger. I cursed (referee Derek Richardson) out good enough. They don't have it on camera that I shot a finger."
Jackson was ejected after he argued an offensive foul call on teammate Jamaal Tinsley when the Pacers trailed by two.
"I really don't give a damn, they're not going to take some money from me for something I didn't do," Jackson said. "They can not give me calls, curse me out, whatever they want to do. I blame it on the announcers at the game. They were the ones that said I shot the finger. They were behind me. How did they see me shoot the finger?"
Whether he used an obscene gesture or not, the Pacers need Jackson, who leads the team in technicals, to maintain his composure during a time they're trying to make up for the loss of forward Ron Artest.
"I just have to keep reminding him that the most important part of our jobs is to concentrate on the game," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Things with the officials are going to happen, but those kinds of distractions take us away from what the focus of the game is. That's got to be winning; and that's hard enough to do."
[email protected]
DALLAS -- Indiana Pacers small forward Stephen Jackson was fined $20,000 by the NBA on Monday for making an obscene gesture after he was ejected in the final seconds of Friday's loss at Cleveland.
"I'm appealing that because I didn't shoot a finger," Jackson said before Monday's game at Dallas. "I know how to shoot a finger. I cursed (referee Derek Richardson) out good enough. They don't have it on camera that I shot a finger."
Jackson was ejected after he argued an offensive foul call on teammate Jamaal Tinsley when the Pacers trailed by two.
"I really don't give a damn, they're not going to take some money from me for something I didn't do," Jackson said. "They can not give me calls, curse me out, whatever they want to do. I blame it on the announcers at the game. They were the ones that said I shot the finger. They were behind me. How did they see me shoot the finger?"
Whether he used an obscene gesture or not, the Pacers need Jackson, who leads the team in technicals, to maintain his composure during a time they're trying to make up for the loss of forward Ron Artest.
"I just have to keep reminding him that the most important part of our jobs is to concentrate on the game," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Things with the officials are going to happen, but those kinds of distractions take us away from what the focus of the game is. That's got to be winning; and that's hard enough to do."