Joakim Noah uses a gay slur toward a fan, how much will it cost him?

DuffMan

Well-Known Member
While I certainly think he gets fined I think it's considerably less than what Kobe got hit with. Kobe's rant was directed at an NBA official who was simply doing his job to the best of his ability (certainly there will be some debate on just how good he is at his job). Noah on the other hand was shouting at a fan who was allegedly taunting Noah essentially trying to get a reaction out of him.

I wouldn't be suprised to see something in the 10-20k range but I don't think he will, or should be, fined near as much as Kobe.

2011 NBA playoffs: Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah apologizes for using alleged gay slur toward fan - ESPN Chicago
 
It will be at least 50K and I wouldn't be surprised if it is 100K like Kobe's. Fans are worse as far as the NBA is concerned. The Ron Artest incident still is a black cloud hanging over the NBA and players getting into it with fans is the last thing the league wants
 
I couldn't disagree more. Again while I disagree with the act it is somewhat understandable as the fan was heckling Joakim, and Kobe's outburst against the referee was unprovoked.

This type of thing goes on constantly in the league and the only reason it's getting press is because of the word Joakim used. I've seen Kevin Garnet call a fan a mother ****** and he didn't get fined a penny.
 
Caught on tape, using a gay slur to a fan. He is looking at 50 to 100K with 100K seeming more likely.

Kobe said it to a ref which is horrible but there isn't really a reason to be concerned that a fight could happen. Noah saying it to a fan and you could have Ron Artest part 2.
 
I disagree, I think saying it to a fan is much worse than a ref. Fine will probably be the same as Kobe's.
 
I bet Noah gets a pass here. I'm pretty sure gay men are allowed to use that word, I think that's how it works, so he should be fine.
 
I disagree, I think saying it to a fan is much worse than a ref. Fine will probably be the same as Kobe's.


Definitely agree. Kobe lashed out at a referee who is a part of the Association. Noah's was directed toward a fan. Whether it was right or wrong, the fans are the one's responsible for making the NBA what it is and paying the bills. As an organization, I don't think you want that type of publicity directed toward those who indirectly pay the bills.
 
My guess is that since it was against the David Stern Heat, he will get fined in excess of $100k and will be looking at a suspension for the remainder of the series. The NBA is irritating me, they might as well give the Heat the title right now.
 
A fan is worse. No way Stern tolerates that. I also think that he will get fined as much, if not more, than Kobe. Kobe was the first instance of this happening and getting a fine. Noah is the 2nd. I'd imagine he'd get fined more as a kind of notice that "you should have learned from the first time this happened" kind of thing
 
My guess is that since it was against the David Stern Heat, he will get fined in excess of $100k and will be looking at a suspension for the remainder of the series. The NBA is irritating me, they might as well give the Heat the title right now.

If you are implying that the heat are getting the calls in this Bulls series.. as an unbiased viewer (rockets fan) who doesn't care who wins, I completely disagree. If anything the Bulls have been getting the edge in the calls so far.
 
Society is jacked up in general! How is calling someone a fag or gay more offensive than calling their mom a female dog????? If Noah would have called them a S.O.B there would have been absolutely no mention of the incident. Giving players hell is part of the sport and every now and then fans go to far and athletes react, its not like Noah made any threatening movement or action to the heckler. I'm pretty sure that all of us were taught when we were children that old "sticks and stones" method. In my opinion, the fine should be very little if anything.
 
Again you guys are missing the component that Kobe's actions were taken against a completely innocent person afilliated with the league and Joakim's actions were against an antagonistic fan who was a more than willing participant.

I think you guys who think it's going to be 100k or even more are pretty foolish.

The going rate for an obscene gesture to a fan (includes flipping the bird and grabbing your crotch) is $25,000. I'd be shocked if he was fined more than this.
 
I think that basing a fine on the type of word he used is ridiculous. What if he called the person shorty, fatty or baldy. Those people are offended, too, right?

Come on, people... just grow a pair. If you're heckling somebody you'd better be prepared to handle whatever they throw back at you.
 
My guess is that since it was against the David Stern Heat, he will get fined in excess of $100k and will be looking at a suspension for the remainder of the series. The NBA is irritating me, they might as well give the Heat the title right now.

Actually the Bulls being in Chicago are in a bigger market and have a much larger fan base than the heat. really the only thing the NBA has going for it for the heat is the fact that a lot of viewers want them to lose so they are tuning in to hope so.
 
I think that basing a fine on the type of word he used is ridiculous. What if he called the person shorty, fatty or baldy. Those people are offended, too, right?

Come on, people... just grow a pair. If you're heckling somebody you'd better be prepared to handle whatever they throw back at you.

Exactly! I promise you the guy that was heckling him was talking about his college major.
 
This is a hot button issue considering the Kobe incident, the guy in the Suns' front office that just came out, and the new NBA commercial now airing about saying someone is 'gay' (Sorry, can imbed at work). I think this will be handled in a high profile manner because of the recent events. Wrong time for Noah to do this.
 
Again you guys are missing the component that Kobe's actions were taken against a completely innocent person afilliated with the league and Joakim's actions were against an antagonistic fan who was a more than willing participant.

I think you guys who think it's going to be 100k or even more are pretty foolish.

The going rate for an obscene gesture to a fan (includes flipping the bird and grabbing your crotch) is $25,000. I'd be shocked if he was fined more than this.

Fans pay the bills while the refs are league employees. Think about in the real world. If you called a co worker a name then you would probably get a warning and see HR where as if you called a customer a name to their face then 9 times out of ten you would be fired.
 
The NBA is not the real world. This is a league in which you can choke your coach and still not get fired.

Again Joakim's rant was not directed at an innocent person, it was an exchange with an instigating fan and that is certainly going to be taken into account. Charles Barkely only got fined 10 large for hawking a lugi on that girl, do you honestly think Noah's going to get more than 25k for calling a heckler a name?
 
Fans pay the bills while the refs are league employees. Think about in the real world. If you called a co worker a name then you would probably get a warning and see HR where as if you called a customer a name to their face then 9 times out of ten you would be fired.

BTW the argument that this will be a bigger deal to the leage because it involves a fan rather than a league employee (official) is ill-informed and not at all based on precident or logic. In fact it's the exact opposit.

The NBA cares much more about protecting it's officials than it does their fans. Just look at the history of fines (and thier amounts) in the leage. Again the going rate for flipping fans the bird or grabbing your crotch is $25,000. The fine for negative comments about officiating live or on your twitter account is $35,000.

David Stern and the NBA have made it very clear for anyone paying attention what they consider more sacred.
 
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