Russell Westbrook absolutely deserved a technical foul for hitting a ref with the ball
I wholeheartedly believe Russell Westbrook when he says he didn't mean to hit official Tre Maddox in the head with a basketball on Wednesday night. Yet Westbrook's intent (or lack thereof) has nothing to do with the penalty he incurred for his reckless mistake.
As you probably know by now, Westbrook was called for a technical foul for his accidental pocket pass to Maddox's cranium. He questioned that decision after the game, as the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard was generally apologetic for hitting Maddox:
https://twitter.com/FredKatz/status/816853484041539584
Yet as harsh as it might be, the NBA had to whistle him for a technical to try to prevent this situation from happening in the future.
If a player is going to make that pass to an official, he has an absolute responsibility to make sure the ref is expecting the ball. If there's even a sliver of doubt, as in this situation, uncertainty creeps into the conversation. "Did Westbrook mean to do it?" "Was the official looking?" "Is he lying about his intention?"
Again, I believe Westbrook. Down the line, however, there might be an occasion where a frustrated player "accidentally" (on purpose) does the same thing. And if the precedent isn't established with Westbrook, then we're legislating an even more complicated scenario.
Yes, it's a "slippery slope" argument. You're darn right it is. Punishing Westbrook for his perfect touchdown throw is meant to maintain the integrity of the game and give players pause the next time they might consider this same reaction.
https://twitter.com/Poffiti/status/816822017517322240
After all, the result was just a technical foul.
Westbrook cost his team a point, put himself at risk for ejection in the game and took one step closer to an automatic one-game suspension for cumulative technical fouls this season. None of that is good, but it's not like Westbrook was sidelined for his error in judgment.
He made an honest mistake, and he apologized. For the sake of the NBA's players and officials, he still got punished. That's the long and the short of this kerfuffle.
