The NBA’s latest fine on the Atlanta Hawks is a serious eye-brow raiser! We have seen the league slap fines on teams and players for various reasons, days after the incident occurred. Sometimes, it even feels like it happened ages ago. Similarly, two weeks after the short-handed Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, the league slapped the franchise for benching Trae Young. Notably, this didn’t sit well with the fans, as the star point guard has been dealing with a lingering Achilles injury.

The league slapped the fine on the team, citing that the team “held Young out of a game that he could have played in under the medical standard in the Policy,” as per Zach Langley, NBA reporter. Moreover, Langley didn’t just stop reporting the league’s decision. He also had an important analysis to pass on. He pointed out that Ice Trae had been dealing with an Achilles’ aggravation since the start of the season.

While several players, especially Joel Embiid, sit out games citing injury management, Langley found this fine “weird”. Moreover, he also added that the league had punished the Hawks for defeating the C’s in the NBA Cup, ultimately strangling their chances of reaching the knockout rounds. On November 12th, the Hawks without Trae Young visited the TD Garden to take on the Celts in the NBA Cup’s group stage game. Considering the Atlanta side’s poor run this season, the defending champs already had the W on the cards.

However, the shorthanded side orchestrated a shocker and defeated the C’s with a 116-117 win. Thanks to Dyson Daniels and Clint Capela. But the important question is why will the league bat for the Celtics?

Well, let’s find out what fans have to say. A fan reacting to the fine, said, “We’re not sorry for beating their golden child team with half our roster (including our best player) out that game,” clearly bashing the league has a soft corner for the defending champs. While there isn’t any narrative as such where the league has been favorable to a particular team, it’s just a cry from an ardent fan.

Fans slam the league on the latest Trae Young decision

The majority of fans stick to the narrative that the league has a soft corner for the C’s. A fan went a bit overboard, and wrote, “I don’t understand why the NBA hate on Trae dmso much.” Now, these fans flipped this into a narrative where a league targets an individual. However, as the fan pointed out, the star has been majorly fined twice in the past as well. But both had valid reasons. Once the star threw the ball into the crowd and on the other occasion, he had a heated argument with the refs.

Another fan pointed out the league’s unjust fine on the Hawks, citing the Philadelphia 76ers situation, saying, “Lol if this were uniformly enforced it’d drop the Sixers franchise value by like $500m”. Last season, the league dropped a rule around the injury management controversy, saying that at least one star of the team should play on a particular game or at least be seated on the courtside along with the team. In the case of the Sixers, the team has played only one game with Paul George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey together. It’s truly something the league should ponder upon.

This fan had a logical reason to counter the league’s decision, saying, “Seems like winning the game might nullify any fines, given that’s the objective of setting any lineup, which logically validates the one they used.” Had the Hawks lost the game, the league could have the franchise accountable for benching the star guard on purpose. But here, the team had staged a shocking victory. So, the league could have considered letting this pass.

However, on the other hand, this fan justified the league’s decision, saying, “Maybe he can play after that game, and it’s NBA cup game. So they are mad.” Well, if we look closer, that was the only game that Young missed this season with the reported right Achilles tendinitis. And, returned for the next game three days later. While the league is looking to reduce the injury and load management absence for the NBA Cup to improve the incentives, Young’s absence has irked doubts.

Moreover, the league’s independent physician, who investigated the star’s injury status revealed that Trae Young was healthy enough to play the game. So, it definitely raises eyebrows. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.