Boston Celtics
“You’re going to call that (expletive) on me every time, and y’all don’t see that it’s an agenda? It’s clearly an agenda.”
Jaylen Brown during Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against the 76ers. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Jaylen Brown’s candid comments about officiating shortly after the Celtics’ season came to a close have drawn the ire of the NBA.
The league announced on Tuesday that Brown is being fined $50,000 “for public criticism of officiating” after he questioned the “agenda” of the refs while on a Twitch stream Sunday night.
Just a day after the Celtics fell to the Sixers in Game 7 of their first-round series, Brown didn’t hold back when discussing the officiating during the playoffs.
“They clearly had an agenda,” Brown said. “They clearly had (expletive) on the red board, ‘If Jaylen does this move, call an offensive foul on him every time.’ I don’t know if it’s because I pissed the refs off, I’ve been critical about them and I’ve called them out a bunch of times. They were like, ‘I’ve got you. In the playoffs, watch this.’ That’s exactly what they did.
“When we were in the middle of the series, I don’t got time to say that, because that’s a distraction. I’m trying to focus. But now that it’s over, that’s some (expletive). I’ve been doing that all regular season. Everybody’s been doing that all regular season. You’re going to call that (expletive) on me every time, and y’all don’t see that it’s an agenda? It’s clearly an agenda.”
This is not the first time this season that Brown has had to pay a fine after calling out NBA officials.
After a home loss to the Spurs on Jan. 10, Brown was blunt when asked about the calls that didn’t go Boston’s way in an eventual 100-95 setback.
“I’ll take the [expletive] fine. Curtis [Blair], all them dudes were terrible tonight,” Brown said postgame earlier this season. “I don’t care, they can fine me whatever they want but it’s crazy. Every time we play a good team, it’s the same [expletive].”
”Somebody please pull up the clips. I’m irate at the officiating of the game today. If we can’t get to the free-throw line and teams are allowed to be physical and bump us off of our spots and et cetera, then it’s hard to win games like that.”
Two days later, the NBA fined Brown $35,000 for public criticism of officials.
As part of Sunday’s live stream, Brown also criticized Sixers star Joel Embiid for flopping, drawing criticism from Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins, Draymond Green, and others.
“Flopping has ruined our game,” Brown said. “Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in (expletive) basketball history, (but he) flops. He knows it. This ain’t breaking news. It is what it is.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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