Chapter 1018
Are you obsessed with money? Is this how you impose such a harsh punishment?
Barnes was the first to arrive at the scene. His speed was due to his street instincts; he felt his friend needed his help, so he was the first to rush over.
But he wasn't much ahead of the others. After all, the basketball court is only so big. No matter how fast you are, how many seconds faster can you be than the others?
So after Barnes blocked Rondo, the three referees quickly intervened in the game and stood between Lin Tian and Rondo.
"Calm down! Everyone calm down! Stop it! Stop it! Calm down! This is Christmas, are you trying to ruin this night? Anyone who dares to ruin my Christmas, I'll ruin your season!"
The referee's authoritative voice rang out, preventing both teams' players, especially Lin Tian and Rondo, from escalating the situation further.
Seeing this, Barnes immediately started his performance, once again displaying his old rogue nature.
"Stop hitting him! Rajon, stop hitting him! We're all buddies, don't fight, don't hit Lin, he'll kill you!" Barnes' sarcastic and blatant words earned him an approving look from Lin Tian.
Well done, little brother!
It has potential.
This shameless and blatant distortion of the truth has somehow managed to portray Lin Tian as the victim.
and many more.
wrong.
I, Lord Lin, am a victim!
Rondo pushed someone first!
At this point, the difference in experience and status between the two teams becomes apparent.
Besides Lin Tian, Kobe Bryant is also a seasoned veteran on the Lakers' side. Although he's terrible at fighting, he still has a certain intimidating presence. Kobe quickly walked to the middle of everyone, glared at everyone who tried to get closer, and kept ordering the Clippers players to back up and stop.
Believe it or not, it actually works!
Of course, the main reason it worked was that none of the Clippers players had completed their rookie contracts; they were a bunch of greenhorns with less than three years of playing experience, and they were really susceptible to Kobe's move.
Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and the others looked at each other, and sure enough, they didn't come up.
I was intimidated by Kobe!
The Clippers are still missing a leader who can carry the team and lead it through thick and thin.
It's not about how good someone is or how impressive their stats are; what's important is that they have a high position and enough prestige to command respect within the team and locker room, and to communicate on equal terms with opposing bigwigs, ensuring that your team doesn't suffer losses.
The Clippers are missing one player, which is a fatal blow.
"What happened? What happened?"
The situation quickly calmed down. Although the players were divided into two groups, they were clearly separated and neither side intended to escalate the conflict further.
As for Barnes, he somehow managed to leave Rondo behind and quietly return to his own side.
Whether others saw his every move clearly is unknown, but Lin Tian certainly saw it all.
Lin Tian could only say that this guy was a born thief and assassin!
Lin Tian felt that if he ever got into a real fight, this guy could really be of help!
With that kind of positioning, he could take down many opponents just by throwing bricks.
We can get along, absolutely.
As for the referee's question, Lin Tian didn't bother to respond.
He sat down at the scorer's table, waiting for the referee to review the replay and give his ruling.
The large screen at the scene was repeatedly playing footage of the conflict between Lin Tian and Rondo.
And it wasn't just the part where Lin Tian repeatedly poked Rondo's head with his finger and Rondo kept backing away; the reason for their conflict was also revealed in the slow-motion replay.
Rondo's push was quite obvious.
Everyone could see clearly that Rondo first tried to push someone, but was directly crushed by Lin Tian's terrifying strength. Only then did Lin Tian turn around to demand an explanation.
After clarifying the entire sequence of events, the referee quickly delivered his ruling.
Rondo received a technical foul.
As for Lin Tian, he was expelled without a fight.
This result was within Lin Tian's expectations. Since Stern took office, the league has been working hard to improve over the past few decades, especially in order to attract middle-class people to watch games. They have gone to great lengths to improve the league's image.
From the anti-drug and anti-gambling campaigns of the 1980s, which even resulted in some All-Star players being banned for life by Stern for drug use, to the severe punishment of fighting in the 1990s, Lin Tian was suspended for several games, missing nearly one-third of the season.
In the early 21st century, with the rise of street kids like Iverson and Marbury, Stern issued a dress code, requiring players to wear formal attire when attending league and team-related events.
Stern has been trying to suppress hip-hop culture in the league, hoping that the middle class will pay to attend games.
After all, no matter how cool or flashy hip-hop culture is, those who like it are basically lower-class Black people.
How much money do they have? They're not Stern's target customers at all.
Following the dress code, Stern granted referees enormous power, implementing a 'zero tolerance' policy, meaning that referees could call a technical foul whenever they wanted!
As a result, there are fewer and fewer players and coaches on the field who use unnecessary profanity and yell at referees.
The competition became smoother and more civilized.
Of course, while Stern has been pushing new policies and implementing new things to gradually improve the league's image, he has never relaxed his efforts to address the issues that were previously targeted.
Therefore, Lin Tian's physical actions, which are clearly more serious than pushing and shoving, will certainly not be tolerated just because of his status.
Especially since tonight is a Christmas Day game, and a Christmas Day game where the outcome is no longer in doubt.
In this situation, expelling Lin Tian would not put any pressure on the referee.
In the playoffs or during a close game, when both sides are pulling back and forth in a crucial moment, the referee might still allow Lin Tian to continue playing.
But now...
Let's go home and have some turkey!
Despite being ejected, Lin Tian remained calm, waving to fans from all directions. After shaking hands and high-fiving the fans in the front row, Lin Tian walked gracefully towards the players' tunnel.
Judging from his posture before leaving the stage, it's hard to believe he was ejected.
It would be more accurate to say that he just hit the game-winning shot and led his team to victory.
There were no further surprises along the way.
The fans cheered wildly and gave Lin Tian a huge round of applause, showing that they understood him very well.
Well... there were some surprises.
As Lin Tian passed by Alba, the girl who had once sparred with him reached out her hand to him with great anticipation.
"They're gone, right?" Alba's eyes gleamed. The scene of Lin Tian teaching Rondo a lesson had reactivated something within her.
"He didn't leave, he's waiting for me." It's a pity, Master Lin has reformed. At least tonight he's reformed; he's no longer the young man who could achieve four great victories in one night.
It's not that my abilities have declined, it's that my mindset has changed.
Lin Tian simply extended his hand and shook hands with Alba, then left directly.
However, there wasn't much disappointment in Alba's eyes.
Lin Tian didn't return the note in her hand, did he?
There will be opportunities in the future.
Theron isn't going to be at Staples Center every day.
For Lin Tian, the task of leaving get off work early tonight was finally officially completed!
As he walked out of the players' tunnel, a deafening chorus of boos and curses erupted from the stadium.
Lin Tian glanced back and saw that it was Rondo standing at the free throw line, going to take the technical free throw.
Then Lin Tian saw Rondo raise his hand and throw a shot, failing to capitalize on the easy points.
This guy probably hasn't recovered from the shock yet.
But that didn't matter; Lin Tiancai was too lazy to pay him any attention.
Lin Tian went straight back to the locker room, quickly took a shower and changed his clothes, then went to the underground parking lot and found the car that had been waiting for him.
"Merry Christmas, my love, and to your little angel, Merry Christmas." Lin Tian gently kissed Theron and Claire, and said with a smile, "Shall we go home?"
"go home."
……
Claire went to bed early that night, while Lin Tian and Theron went to bed late.
As for why they go to bed late, it has been described countless times before, so there is no need to go into it again here.
All you need to know is that Lin Tian woke up at noon, while Theron was still in a deep sleep, having sweet dreams.
Then, as Lin Tian habitually opened the refrigerator, looking for something to eat while casually scrolling through the news, missed calls, and text messages on his phone, he suddenly swore.
"Go to hell with Stern, that old man's gone mad!"
What made Lin Tian utter such a foul word was, of course, the subsequent additional punishment he received.
The Lakers won the game easily last night. Even without Lin Tian, they would have won easily. If the Clippers could have turned the game around under these circumstances, then Kobe and Durant would be out of a job.
Retirement would be more suitable for them.
This morning, just a few hours ago, the league officially announced the punishment for this incident.
Rondo was fined an additional $5000 for initiating the attack with the intent to injure someone. This amount is basically just a warning to make Rondo behave in the future. There was no suspension or other punishment. It can be described as a mere formality of slapping on the wrist.
The main purpose wasn't to punish Rondo with 5000 yuan, but to tell everyone: we can see Rondo's actions, don't think you can get away with it by cheating!
If Rondo's additional fine was merely a warning, then the league's punishment of Lin Tian was rather excessive.
The penalty was exceeded.
Lin Tian was fined $5, ten times that of Rondo. Judging from what the two did on the court, Lin Tian was clearly not ten times worse than Rondo; in fact, Lin Tian was a complete victim.
But the league still issued a penalty.
That's not all. In addition to the $5 fine, the league also imposed a 5-game suspension on Lin Tian.
This was also far beyond Lin Tian's imagination. For a conflict of this level, a one-match suspension would be normal, a two-match suspension would be the maximum, and a three-match suspension would be a bit insane.
Five games?
After seeing this number, Lin Tian had two doubts.
1. Could Rondo be Stern's illegitimate son?
2. Have I lost my memory? Last night, I was the one who pinned Rondo to the ground and gave him a set of Ralph's Horse-Riding Cannon Fist.
Lin Tian simply couldn't understand or accept it.
Lin Tian's reaction to this was quite simple and direct.
He picked up his phone and called Stern.
"Are you crazy for money? Is the league so poor that it has to rely on my $5 to survive?"
"That's really harsh, Lin. What do you mean the League is short of $5?" Stern's signature calm voice rang out: "Isn't this a case where the League needs to set an example? The League hasn't had a brawl of this magnitude in years. It must be severely punished. People need to know that the League has zero tolerance for this kind of thing!"
"Since you've gotten into trouble again, you're just unlucky. There's nothing I can do about it! You did lay a hand on them, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did lay a hand on him. I don't care about a few tens of thousands of knives. Fine, punish me if you want. But what's with the suspension? Come on, explain to me what the suspension is all about."
"Five games? Are you crazy? Five games! I even suspect I beat Rondo to death! I just pointed at his head and that's five games? Is he your son? You're protecting your own, aren't you? I'm calling your wife right now, you can explain it to her yourself, okay?"
“I already told you, don’t be so rude.” Stern’s voice was as steady as ever, and he was still explaining calmly: “You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were just about to tighten the rules a bit when you came out. You can’t blame me. It’s really not because I was targeting you.”
"What do I care if you make an example of someone to scare others? Go find someone else. Do you think I'm a pushover?" Lin Tian has never been polite to Stern, especially now that he's angry and won't give face to anyone.
Is Master Lin someone who can be bullied or manipulated at will?
Lin Tian could not tolerate the league's punishment, which was excessive, almost insane, and completely targeted.
If you want to control someone, go find someone else.
"Don't get angry. You're so old. Calm down and take a break. How about this, I..." Stern wanted to offer Lin Tian some terms and find some benefits to appease him, but before he could finish speaking, Lin Tian interrupted him.
"Stop with the nonsense, I'm not buying it. This isn't over, let me tell you, this isn't over."
“今年全明星赛是2月10到12日是吧？老子受伤了，老子2月9日开始受伤，这件事儿就这么说。”
After Lin Tian finished speaking, he didn't give Stern any chance to explain and hung up the phone directly.
He's unhappy!
It's not just because of this punishment.
It's clear that this alliance is taking advantage of him.
A fine of 10,000 and a one-match suspension are enough, but they inexplicably multiply it by five. Isn't this bullying honest people?
Lord Lin will never be bullied by the alliance!
In particular, the benefits and revenue that Lin Tian's comeback brought to the league this year, as well as the increased attention and traffic, cannot be calculated in just a few words or math problems.
At the very least, putting everything else aside, the league's financial reports are much better because of Lin Tian's return, and the 11-12 season, which was originally scheduled to be suspended, has resumed as planned. Because of these things, the league's negotiations for the new broadcasting agreement, which will take effect in the 15-16 season, will be significantly boosted.
These are all profits and green dollars directly generated by Lin Tian's comeback.
Lin Tian was too lazy to calculate the exact amount, but he was confident that it was definitely in the tens of digits!
I've brought so much benefit to the alliance all by myself, and instead of thanking me or giving me any special privileges, you guys are punishing me five times over for such a small thing. Are you trying to control me?
Then let's stop playing! Everyone, stop playing! (End of Chapter)