Anthony Edwards just can’t seem to catch a break—or hold his tongue. Two weeks ago, he got fined $25,000 for letting profanity fly in a postgame interview. You’d think that would make him pause. Nope. Days later, the NBA handed him a $75,000 fine after he called the refs “f****** terrible.”. That’s one way to spend your paycheck. But this streak dates back to the previous month!

On Nov. 17, the NBA also fined him $35,000. Why? Two days earlier, during Minnesota’s 130-126 win over the Kings, he got called for a charge in the first quarter. Frustrated, Edwards responded with a raised middle finger—what the league called “an obscene gesture.”

Then came last Friday. Edwards hit a clutch game-winner against the Rockets after erasing a 16-point deficit. But during his postgame interview, he dropped another gem: “I’m like, s***, I’m going for the win. Like Gilbert Arenas said, I don’t do overtime, so f*** it.”

If that doesn’t scream confidence, I don’t know what does.

By Sunday, the league fined him $100,000 for his colorful language on live TV. That’s $235,000 in barely four weeks. Someone hand this guy a swear jar—or at least a better filter! Fans had to react to the ANT getting fined, again.

Fans call out Adam Silver and his leadership, support Anthony Edwards

One fan wrote, “Soft league”. Fans feel Adam Silver and the NBA have become overly strict in regulating players’ emotions and expressions. Critics of these fines often compare today’s NBA to previous eras, where trash talk and heated gestures were part of the game’s edge. Players like Kevin Garnett or Charles Barkley built their legacies on fiery competitiveness, and fans didn’t just accept it—they loved it.

Another fan took a clever dig at Silver, who has been trying everything to get the ratings up. They wrote, “Why are nba ratings down”. Fans who voice concerns about declining ratings often point to a disconnect between the NBA and its audience. They believe overly policing language and gestures creates a sanitized version of the game, stripping away the intensity and drama that once made it compelling.

Basketball isn’t just about skill—it’s about passion, personality, and raw emotion. The NBA had its most-watched Christmas Day in five years on Wednesday, with each game drawing an average of 5.25 million viewers in the U.S. But this one day doesn’t paint the bigger picture, the overall viewership has been on a steady decline still.

A netizen tweeted, “The NBA f****** s**ks”. For these fans, it’s not just about Edwards’ fines—it’s about a perception that the NBA has become overly corporate, image-driven, and disconnected from the raw authenticity that made it popular in the first place. To them, the modern NBA’s rules and penalties feel like a sterilized version of what basketball should be!

Even Joe Mazzulla feels the lack of on-court confrontation has taken away something essential from the NBA. He made it clear, saying, “The biggest thing that we rob people of from an entertainment standpoint is, you can’t fight anymore.” while appearing on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak & Bertrand”.

“Cut this shit out it’s bad for the game,” wrote another fan. The concern isn’t just about individual fines; it’s about a trend that could erode what makes basketball exciting. For fans, basketball isn’t supposed to feel like a corporate seminar—it’s an emotional battle. Stifling that energy risks alienating the passionate fanbase that built the NBA into what it is today.

A smart fan commented, “I knew it was coming lmao”. This shows a sense of inevitability among fans who’ve grown used to the NBA’s strict disciplinary actions. Fans expect the league to crack down on anything it deems inappropriate, whether it’s Anthony Edwards’ profanity or Draymond Green’s antics. For many, this isn’t shocking—it’s just how the NBA operates now.