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Costly words Charles Barkley fined $20,000 for criticizing official
Posted: Friday December 03, 1999 12:03 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A $20,000 fine isn't going to shut Charles Barkley up. Barkley, fined by the NBA on Thursday for criticizing an official a night earlier, said before the Houston Rockets' game against the Clippers that he will continue to "defend himself." It's not the first time he's been fined for ripping an official. "This is like the third time it's happened," Barkley said. "They got me for $10,000, $15,000. It's just escalated. If I think an official's bad, I'll say it. "I don't think about it, don't worry about it too much, man. They're all tax-deductible." The fine resulted from remarks Barkley made about referee Mike Mathis after the Rockets' 128-122 double-overtime loss in Phoenix. "We lost the game because of one reason -- Mike Mathis," the All-Star forward said then. "I ain't going to say nothing else. He's a bad official." Barkley, called for a foul while going for a rebound after teammate Kelvin Cato missed a free throw with 3.5 seconds left in the first overtime, has a history of run-ins with Mathis, one of seven officials who resigned following tax charges last year. "He's been bad the whole time I've been in the league," Barkley said after the loss. "He cost us the game, and I hate that he's back in the league." Barkley already had been fined $5,000 and suspended without pay for one game this season after getting into a fight with Shaquille O'Neal. Barkley said Thursday night that, for athletes, free speech is an oxymoron. "I pay taxes, just like everybody else. Everybody else has an opinion, but famous people -- especially athletes -- don't," he said. "But I'm going to speak my mind if I'm asked."
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