UPDATE: NBA not fining Isaiah Thomas for making a gun gesture at Demarre Carroll


UPDATE:

The NBA will not fine Isaiah Thomas for his reaction to Demarre Carroll's flagrant foul on Friday night:


In the 2nd quarter of Friday night's matchup with the Toronto Raptors Isaiah Thomas responded to a Demarre Carroll flagrant foul with fiery emotion and looked to make a "gun gesture" in the face of the Raptors forward. The NBA is reportedly looking into the situation:


Obviously gun violence in not a joke and simulating that shouldn't be taken lightly, but in the heat of the moment after an awful flagrant foul that sent Thomas sliding headfirst into the baseline I wouldn't read too much into it. It wasn't a basketball play but a shove into the back out of the Celtics point guard that sent him to the floor while moving near his top speed, but watching the replay it's very clear that Isaiah did make the gesture in question - here's the replay:



The referees spent a good amount of time sorting out the mess after the foul and ensuing scuffle that followed. Ultimately they called the the hit a flagrant 1 and also gave Carroll a technical foul, while Thomas and Jae Crowder were both given technical fouls for their reactions.

The league could categorize the play as "taunting" or "menacing" but are unlikely to do so according to Michael Grange of SportsNet.com:

According to league sources, while Thomas was being looked at by the NBA for additional discipline for the apparent gun gesture, he was deemed to not be doing it with any direct intent.

The league has fined players before for gestures deemed as ‘taunting’ or ‘menacing’ but Thomas' wouldn't seem to qualify.

Our pal Gerald Green got hit with a $25,000 fine last year in the pre-season with Miami for making a gun gesture that wasn't even directed at anyone so it wouldn't surprise me if Isaiah did get hit with a fine:


Either way Thomas doesn't have any sort of rap sheet in the NBA for prior issues like this so if anything he certainly won't be missing any games for a gesture that didn't look any more menacing than the flagrant foul that started the mess.


Photo Credit - Boston Globe

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