“It will ruin the sport if people found out it was fixed!” Charles Barkley weighs in on Rudy Gobert’s $100k fine for ‘money’ gesture to NBA referee

Throughout this season, players, coaches, and fans have called out the officiating for several mistakes.

“It will ruin the sport if people found out it was fixed!” Charles Barkley weighs in on Rudy Gobert’s $100k fine for ‘money’ gesture to NBA referee

Rudy Gobert used a money gesture to suggest NBA officiating is fixed, Charles Barkley wants NBA to suspend Gobert instead of $100k fine

The NBA has been facing several instances of players and coaches calling out the officials. This time around, Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Rudy Gobert showed a money gesture to the referees.

He insinuated that the fouls were called intentionally. This incident in particular led to Hall of Famer Charles Barkley discussing Gobert’s $100,000 fine.

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During the Inside the NBA show hosted on TNT, Charles Barkley picked up on the topic of Rudy Gobert‘s gesture and the subsequent fine. Barkley alluded that Gobert’s gesture could have ruined the fan following of the NBA. He further implied that referees were receiving payment to call fouls, even if they weren’t legitimate.

I thought he should have got suspended...… The one thing we can never do in sports is make people think it’s fixed. If we ever get to a point, any sport, if they found out, it would ruin the sport if they found out it was fixed.
Barkley said about the whole incident

Charles Barkley considered the gesture a serious shot at the league’s officiating. Barkley wanted the NBA to make a statement and suspend Gobert.

To this, the co-panelist, Kenny Smith, added that several players and coaches have been fined before. Furthermore, as per the former professional, the NBA should take a stand to keep the league’s integrity intact.

Notably, the discussion took yet another turn when their colleague, Shaquille O’Neal, did not agree with the need for a suspension. However, Barkley pointed out that if fans ever perceive the officiating as fixed in any way, the league will not be able to fix the issue. 

Related: Rudy Gobert slapped with $100,000 fine after suggesting NBA referees bet on games

Charles Barkley doesn’t want fans to perceive NBA officiating as fixed

Throughout this season, the most recurring theme has been players and coaches reacting to missed officiating. Even fans have raised their voices to call out officials. It may be for or against the team in question, but the voices are growing louder. 

Missed or bad calls decided the outcome of some matches, and the league issued fines to several players. The league has reprimanded coaches for exhibiting aggressive behavior towards referees, etc. But it doesn’t seem to die down.

However, the Rudy Gobert situation has taken the notion to the next level. All this while, it was just players and coaches talking about mistakes in officiating. But after that incident, in particular, fans saw Gobert’s gesture as a slap in the face of the league’s officiating crew. 

And that’s why the league fined him $100,000. Although replays showed Gobert’s foul was legitimate, the mere suggestion that the foul was paid for was a direct shot at the league. 

All in all, no one wants to see the league and its officiating in a bad light. Charles Barkley wants Rudy Gobert suspended as a mark of stopping players from going too far to get their way. 

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