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When he was first asked for his thoughts about the Indiana Pacers receiving a $100,000 fine for violating the NBA’s Player Participation Policy by sitting several players during a game against the Utah Jazz — a penalty levied for what NBA commissioner Adam Silver called “overt behavior […] that prioritizes draft position over winning” — Rick Carlisle kept his response brief.
“I have no idea,” Carlisle told reporters at the Pacers’ first post-All-Star break practice last Tuesday, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “And really no comment on it.”
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On Tuesday, though, during an interview with Indianapolis radio station 107.5 The Fan, Carlisle offered more expansive comments, calling the process of the investigation that preceded the fine “shocking” and “ridiculous.”
“Yeah, you know, I didn’t agree with it,” Carlisle told hosts Kevin Bowen and James Boyd. “There was a league lawyer that was doing the interview that kind of unilaterally decided that Aaron Nesmith, who had been injured the night before and couldn’t hold the ball, should have played in the game, which just seems ridiculous.
“And during the interview process — I was not on it, but I heard details — we asked them if they wanted to talk to the doctors, our doctors, about it, because it’s something that was documented by our doctors and trainers. They said no, they didn’t need to, they talked to their doctors, who did not examine Aaron Nesmith. And we asked them if they wanted to talk to the kid, and they said no, they didn’t need to. So this was shocking. This was shocking to me.
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“And during the interview, they also asked if we considered medicating him to play in a game when we were 30 games under .500. So I was very surprised. You know, obviously didn’t agree with it.”
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“Coach Carlisle’s description of the process that went into the decision to fine the Indiana Pacers is inaccurate,” a league spokesperson told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday. “An independent physician led the medical review. In addition, the Pacers’ General Manager…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/pacers-coach-rick-carlisle-sounds-off-on-nbas-ridiculous-process-investigating-teams-alleged-tanking-efforts-211019648.html
Author : Dan Devine
Publish date : 2026-02-24 21:10:00
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