Rockets rookie shoves referee to ground after D-League game
A postgame fracas during a recent D-League assignment ended with Houston Rockets forward Montrezl Harrell shoving an official to the ground, a move that the union representing referees has called “a deliberate assault and battery” against the ref.
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The incident occurred following Saturday’s game between the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ D-League affiliate, and the Bakersfield Jam, the Phoenix Suns’ affiliate. After the Jam finished off a 119-115 win behind 62 points from the duo of Askia Booker and Terrico White, Harrell, whom Houston drafted out of Louisville with the secnd pick of the second round of the 2015 NBA draft, found himself face to face with Bakersfield’s Derek Cooke Jr., an undrafted forward out of Wyoming, who had grabbed the rebound on the final shot of the game right in front of Harrell.
The two big men jawed for a moment, and then Cooke shoved Harrell backward. Referee Jason Goldenberg stepped in front of Harrell to prevent him from retaliating; Harrell promptly deposited him on the deck. Cooler heads soon prevailed, as Cooke was escorted off the court, the players dispersed and everyone headed their separate ways. Harrell finished with 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting, 13 rebounds and two assists in 39 minutes. Cooke scored three points with nine rebounds and a block in 24 minutes for the winners.
Harrell declined to speak to media after the game, according to Dennis Silva II of The Monitor:
“I haven’t seen the video, but I saw Montrezl and someone get into it,” Vipers coach Matt Brase said. “I saw Montrezl get pushed. We’ll look at it and see what really happened.”
The game consisted of 67 combined fouls and seven combined technical fouls. The Vipers had 29 personal fouls and four of those technical fouls.
“Obviously, when there’s a lot of fouls in a game there’s a lot of contact,” Brase said. “It was physical, emotional. They had gotten knocked out of the playoffs and they want revenge, but I didn’t think anything was dirty. It was more talk than anything.”
That’s not how the National Basketball Referees Association saw it, though. The referees union issued an official comment on the matter on Monday:
“After carefully reviewing videotape and related evidence concerning this incident, we have reached the inescapable conclusion that Harrell committed a deliberate assault and battery against Referee Goldenberg. Anything less than a multiple game suspension would constitute a green light for violence against officials,” said Lee Seham, NBRA general counsel.
“Deliberate assault and battery” seems a bit excessive, given the context; this looks more like “I want to hit that dude and I’m throwing anyone who gets in my way out of it to make that happen” than “Finally, my opportunity to exact revenge on this ref who called a bunch of fouls tonight.” That said, it does seem like the NBA and D-League have to send a message that physical contact with officials is totally unacceptable, which should mean a hefty penalty for Harrell, who has made 38 appearances for Houston and 12 with the Vipers this season.
The NBA’s reviewing the incident, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, and is expected to offer a response, which could include disciplinary action against the rookie, later Tuesday or Wednesday. Rio Grande Valley has three games left in its season, and has already clinched a spot in the D-League’s playoffs, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. It’s not yet clear if Harrell will be available for those upcoming Vipers games, or if any punishment he’ll receive will carry over to the NBA level, too; the Rockets have eight games left, and currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference playoff race despite having the same record (36-38) as the Dallas Mavericks by virtue of owning a 2-1 edge in their head-to-head season series and a superior record in their division.
Hat-tip to Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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