Bogut Could Face Punishment from NBA for Obscene Gesture

A gesture made towards fans by Milwaukee Bucks player Andrew Bogut is being reviewed by the NBA. There could be a possible suspension or at least a fine for Bogut, who made the obscene gesture after being ejected for a flagrant foul on Monday night in a loss against the Toronto Raptors.

"We're reviewing it," said Tim Frank, vice president of basketball communications for the NBA.

This is not the first time that an incident like this has happened. Looking back at previous situations, such as Josh Smith making a similar gesture towards a crowd this January, Bogut will most likely get a large fine for his action. Smith received a $25,000 fine for his offense.

With the NBA trying to repair its image of rich, arrogant athletes with bad attitudes, Bogut should receive a punishment of some kind. The League has had some other troubles this year, such as the fight between the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks that left several players suspended, most notably Carmelo Anthony for 15 games. Also, nobody has forgotten about the brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers that left a number of players suspended, including Ron Artest for 73 games.

Bogut, in his second year in the NBA out of Utah, is not having the success that fans probably expected. He was after all the number one pick in the 2005 NBA draft. Though he is putting up decent numbers, 12.2 points and 8.8 rebounds, he is not contributing enough as the Bucks are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and are tied for the second worst record. With extreme lack of talent that the Bucks have, Bogut should be putting up better numbers; that is the bottom line. With only one true scorer in Michael Redd, and Charlie Villanueva who can score at times, Bogut should be a strong force for this team.

Bogut seemed to be frustrated with his own fans. The game was in Milwaukee and it seemed like Bucks fans were the target of the gesture. The Bucks are well out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference and have been for quite some time. Bogut does not have a history of incidents like this; it just seems that his emotions got the best of him. He should be frustrated not only with the way that he has been playing, but also the way that his team performs.

Cited:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2796889

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/andrew_bogut/index.html?nav=page