Utah Jazz player Rodney Hood made headlines the other night when he slapped the phone away from a fan taking video as he was leaving the arena after being ejected from a game.
Now, the league has responded to his transgression.
The NBA announced Friday that it was fining Hood $35,000 for slapping the fan's phone. He was not, as some thought, suspended for any games, per David Locke, the radio voice of the Jazz.
Rodney Hood has been fined 35,000 dollars for slapping cell phone after ejection in Washington. He will be available to play tonight
— David Locke (@DLocke09) January 12, 2018
The situation was a bad look for Hood, who was clearly frustrated after being ejected from the game. But that does not give him the right to slap the phone away from a fan who was just taking a video. Fans have the right to take videos of players during games, no matter what the situation.
Article Continues BelowThe fan was so upset that he actually sought out police action against Hood. It remains to be seen what will come of that.
But there's another side to this. Fans could exercise a little bit more empathy to frustrated players leaving games in a huff or struggling mightily during games. Players are people, too, and certain things definitely get to them if they're having a bad game.
Sometimes fans go too far with heckling players or yelling at them, especially those that have courtside seats and have a good chance of being heard by the players or coaches.
In essence, it seems as though there could be solutions on both sides of this issue. Fans can film, yell and take photos of players, but maybe they should refrain from doing so at certain times. And players should never go after fans in the way that Hood did.