Jazz Coach Suspended for Seven Games!

[Karl Foster]

Jerry Sloan, coach of the Utah Jazz, and former player for the Chicago Bulls, pushed a referee in Sacramento, and has been suspended for seven games by the NBA. Ugh! What was he thinking! :confused:

http://www.nba.com/news/sloan_030129.html

So far the Jazz are 2-0 with assistant coach Phil Johnson at the helm, so all is not lost. :)

[John Corn]

7 games can ONLY be considered a correct punishment if the NBA is treating Sloan as a repeat offender.

Artest bumps Riley, flips off the Miami fans, taunts the bench, and gets a flagrant-2 (which I thought was an automatic ejection + 1 game suspension). Artest is a repeat offender. Suspension: 4 games.

Dennis Rodman headbutts a referee. Rodman is the poster child for bad behavior. Suspension: 6 games.

Nick Van Exel pushes a referee into the scorer's table. Suspension: 7 games.

Phil Jackson called for a techical in a game for protesting a blown call. AND THE TECHNICAL IS REVERSED? Come on. Doesn't that mean if Sloan was right that the pushing was more deserved? (Answer: No, it doesn't, but the NBA is sending some really mixed messages.)

I can't argue the Sloan suspension, because he did deserve to be suspended. And I think it probably also cost him a good shot at Coach Of The Year. But 7 games is excessive, UNLESS THE NBA CONSIDERS SLOAN A REPEAT OFFENDER. To me, that incident was a 2-game suspension. NBA is using him as an example.

[Karl Foster]

He is a recipient of a lot of technical fouls. He is a hard-nosed coach (as he was a hard-nosed player) and defends his players to the very end. I think the only player on the Jazz that could take him is Karl Malone. :)

I thought 7 games was a bit harsh, and the team has yet to announce any fiscal penalties. He knows better, though, so he only has himself to blame.