Miami star Dwyane Wade was fined $15,000 this week for making an obscene gesture near the end of the third quarter against the Hornets in Charlotte.
Wade was upset with some fans, so he gave them the finger as he walked off the court.
The fine is more symbolic than anything else, a way for the league to make it publicly known that it’s preferred that the players don’t behave this way. But Wade used the opportunity to lobby for additional protection for the players from overly-unruly fans.
Wade said a number of fans were saying things about his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, and that the comments got progressively worse as the night went along.
He lost his cool, approaching the group with the middle finger raised on one of his hands.
t’s tough to see what could actually be done in situations like this. Unless other fans around the ones making the offending remarks complain, or a player personally goes to security to ask that someone be removed, it seems like something that would be extremely difficult to police.
