Rodman To Sit For Six Nba Suspends, Fines Bulls Star For Head-Butting
Issuing the third-stiffest penalty against a player for an on-court violation, the National Basketball Association suspended Dennis Rodman on Monday for six games without pay and fined him $20,000.
The suspension will cost the controversial Chicago Bulls forward more than $200,000, based on a salary of more than $30,000 per game plus the $20,000 fine and an automatic $1,000 fine for being ejected.
Rodman was penalized for head-butting referee Ted Bernhardt during Saturday’s road game against the Nets, then creating a scene before finally leaving the court.
When the Bulls traded for Rodman before the season, they gambled that his volatile personality would not become a major distraction. He has delivered in terms of his play, leading the league in rebounds and maintaining his status as one of the its best defenders.
But with the playoffs approaching and a chance to become the first NBA team to win 70 games in a season, the Bulls have to wonder if they can count on Rodman when the stakes are highest.
The trouble started when Rodman received his second technical foul Saturday, meaning an automatic ejection.
Rodman walked angrily toward Bernhardt and screamed at him, then grazed the referee with a head-butt. Rodman continued to argue, removed his shirt and knocked over a cooler on his way to the locker room.
Following the game, Rodman accused the league of singling him out for punishment, directly criticizing David Stern, the NBA commissioner, as well as Rod Thorn, the league’s vice president for operations. While Thorn did not appreciate Rodman’s comments, he said Rodman was punished for his actions, not his words. Thorn said Rodman received his second technical for making an obscene gesture.
“There’s no way that head-butting a referee will be tolerated under any circumstances,” Thorn said.
“I’ve been in the league 30 years, and I have never seen an incident of someone head-butting a referee.”
The only stiffer penalties for on-court violations were suspensions of 26 games to Kermit Washington in 1977 for punching Rudy Tomjanovich and 10 games to Vernon Maxwell last season for hitting a fan in the stands.
Rodman’s suspension began with Monday night’s game in Philadelphia. He will be eligible to return April 2, when the Bulls visit Miami.
Bill Pollak, Rodman’s agent, declined comment. It’s unknown whether Rodman plans to appeal.
Thorn denied Rodman was being singled out because of his controversial past. In January, Rodman was fined $5,000 for verbally abusing referees and failing to leave the court in a timely fashion after being ejected from a game with Seattle.
“Talk to most coaches around the league, and they’d tell you that Rodman gets away with more than most players because he’s a very physical player,” Thorn said. “To say that he’s a marked man is, to use his word, ridiculous.”
Rodman saw things differently after Saturday’s game, citing both Thorn and Stern for criticism.
“They’re going to suspend me no matter what,” Rodman said. “If you want to suspend me, suspend me. They make an example out of Dennis Rodman. I don’t care. This is really getting out of hand. It’s getting really ridiculous, picking on me. This has been going on the last two or three years. If I butted him, I butted him. Suspend me.
“Rod Thorn? David Stern? Suspend me. OK? You guys are so big? Suspend me. The head-butt was an accident, but they’re going to make it look like it was deliberate.
“It’s just getting ridiculous that referees in the league pick on me. Whatever little things I do after the play, the referees just watch me the whole time. They watch everything I do, instead of watching the game.”
Michael Jordan has said Rodman’s behavior is a growing concern. Asked if Rodman was a target, Jordan said: “Right now the attention is there; they’re looking for it and he knows that. I think that requires a little more intelligence on his part, not to fall prey to that stuff.”