Charles Barkley Slams Rudy Gobert for $100,000 Gesture Toward Referees

That expensive gesture was not only costly to Rudy Gobert, he was also left wide open to criticism. And the Inside Guys have a lot of that to give. They weren’t impressed by his recent behaviour which saw him getting slapped with a $100,000 fine. Charles Barkley was especially harsh on him and he made his disappointment known.

He said Gobert should have gotten suspended. Despite Shaquille O’Neal saying that’s too harsh, Chuck said, “The one thing we can never do in sports, ever, is make people think it’s fixed. If we ever get to the point if we found out, any sport, it will ruin the sport if people thought it was fixed.” 

Kenny agreed with Chuck that you can’t behave in a way that puts “the integrity of the game” in question. Shaq, who called Gobert overrated for DPOY recently, was not on the same page.

The debacle went down when the Minnesota Timberwolves were playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 8. Before the Wolves lost 104-113, they were leading 97-96 when Anthony Edwards missed a jump shot. Gobert was guarded by two defenders and made a dunk. But he earned his sixth foul of the night immediately after.

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The issue arose when immediately after that shot; he made a money gesture at the referee. He implied that the officiants had been bribed. The behavior got him a technical. However, Shaq and Kenny joked that he’s making the money gesture to imply he’s earning big bucks playing ball. Gobert didn’t leave any doubt about what he meant later, though.

Rudy Gobert doesn’t share Chuck’s sentiment

At a press conference after the game, Gobert was remorseful but for other reasons. While he doubled down on his stance, he was sorry for compromising his team on a critical stage.

“My reaction, which I think is truth — it’s what I truly believe — even if it’s the truth, it wasn’t the time for me to react that way,” Gobert said at the press conference. “I should have not done that. I cost my team the game, and obviously, they couldn’t wait to give me a tech. That was bad. That was an immature reaction.”

Gobert ended the night with 7 points and 17 rebounds. He was slapped with the fine but he wasn’t suspended. While Chuck and Kenny don’t condone his actions, fans don’t seem to agree. A good few are supporting Gobert for calling out questionable calls and they also don’t think he deserves a harsh punishment. Do you agree with Gobert or the NBA veterans?

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