Ben Gordon Fined; Angrily Demands an Explanation

by Marcel Mutoni

One of the questions rookie coach Vinny Del Negro faced yesterday from the media scrum was one about whether or not his players respected him. Vinny responded by saying that “they should. They better. But you ask the players that.”

Moments later, one of his players blatantly disrespected him in front of everyone. Awesome.

Ben Gordon didn’t appreciate a fine he received from the team and demanded an explanation from his coach – with profanity thrown in for good measure – while the media was in plain view. The Chicago Tribune reports:

The Bulls fined guard Ben Gordon on Thursday for missing the team deadline for a flight, and the typically stoic guard expressed his displeasure during an animated conversation with coach Vinny Del Negro.

Del Negro declined a request through a team spokesman to address the issue further. Reached outside the Berto Center, Gordon said the incident was no longer an issue and he had no problems with Del Negro.

Gordon did not curse his coach directly but used profanity to emphasize his frustration, believing he had been falsely accused of the transgression.

Your Chicago Bulls, ladies and germs!

All told, it’s actually kind of a small miracle that Vinny has lasted in the job as long as he has. But I wouldn’t hold my breath that he’s going to be around for very much longer.