Utah Jazz editorial: Courtney Kirkland’s hit on Rudy Gobert was shameful

The Utah Jazz ultimately didn’t need him to stop the struggling Houston Rockets, but Rudy Gobert’s ejection by referee Courtney Kirkland was still shameful.

There’s no sugar-coating it for the Houston Rockets — on Thursday night, in a nationally televised game, they gave an utterly embarrassing performance. A determined Utah Jazz team took it to James Harden‘s squad from the opening tip-off and, in short order, the Rockets folded like a cheap suit.

All the while, a determined Courtney Kirkland was taking it to Jazz center Rudy Gobert. And he, too, was on-task from the jump.

It felt like a mob hit on behalf of his fellow referees, and Kirkland was the executioner. It was as embarrassing as anything Harden and company did or didn’t do during the game.

Let’s back up.

Following Utah’s two-point loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, Gobert derided the efforts of the game’s officials. More than that, though, he felt disrespected by them. Here’s what he had to say at the post-game presser, via the Deseret News —

"“I just want it to be consistent at one point,” Gobert said. “Every night is the same (expletive). Every night has been the same (expletive). If you call something one way, you’ve got to call it the other way. Once they start doing that, I’m going to have a little more respect.“I’m just tired of it. Every game is the same.”"

“I sacrifice everything to do this job,” Gobert said in summation. “I’d like to be respected as a basketball player.”

Right or wrong, there are rules against making those kinds of comments in reference to officiating. So, less than 24 hours later, the league office fined the Stifle Tower a cool $15,000 for doing so.

That wasn’t enough for Kirkland, though. He was going to make sure Gobert paid just a little bit more for his words. So, one second into the Jazz-Rockets affair, he called a foul on Gobert.

One second.

Houston had won the opening tip and any contact between Gobert and Rockets big man Clint Capela was minimal and standard fare for the situation; even the official that tossed the jump ball looked surprised by the call. But Kirkland was a man on a mission, so he blew his whistle.

Just over two minutes later, Gobert was ejected. Per ESPN Stats & Info, it was the quickest ejection in the NBA over the last 15 years.

After the game, Kirkland said the Stifle Tower was tossed because he acted too demonstratively after a second foul was called. Indeed, when Gobert was on his way toward the bench after foul No. 2 — an offensive infringement augmented by some Harden floppage — he angrily slapped objects off the scorers table.

Still, his explanation of what transpired is hollow.

In truth, Kirkland did something he’s done on multiple occasions over his two decades in the game. He made a hot-headed decision as a self-appointed judge based purely on his own, misguided sense of justice. In doing so, he acted completely outside the scope of what is appropriate behavior for officials. Again.

Kirkland was famously suspended last season when he did the same to the Golden State Warriors’ Shaun Livingston. When the latter argued with him over a non-call during a game against the Heat, Kirkland stepped into Livingston’s face, initiated contact with him, then ejected the veteran guard for making contact.

Shaun Livingston ejected after making contact with a ref pic.twitter.com/ZRGfDEG7vc
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 4, 2017

Jazz fans will recall that longtime coach Jerry Sloan was once suspended seven games for shoving Kirkland during a similar debate back in 2003. On one hand, Sloan was in the wrong for getting physical, but he was also provoked and threatened into doing so by the official, who was doing something he shouldn’t have.

After that incident, Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay wrote this for ESPN —

"I don’t know what words were spoken by the two principals. Sloan is wrong for pushing Kirkland and will pay a stiff penalty for that. But why was Kirkland in the bench area debating the situation in the first place? Referees are instructed to move away from a player or coach when there is a confrontation. Kirkland invited a response by staying in the “hot zone.” None of this would have happened if Kirkland had moved to the other side of the floor."

By all accounts, Kirkland is one of the more dedicated officials you’ll find. And, for my part, I’ve found him to be one of the more capable with the whistle as well. I also get that these guys are human and that mistakes and bias are inevitable, even among the best of the bunch.

That said, referees are supposed to keep order, to diffuse tense situations. Clearly, Kirkland has established a pattern of doing the opposite. Instead of being that steadying force, he’s acted as an igniting agent; this time, Gobert was the one who exploded as a result.

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Clearly, in Kirkland’s mind, a punishment had to be rendered for the Jazz star’s bristling commentary on he and his fellow officials. That’s not his job, though — the $15k fine did the trick. He went above and beyond his duty in the worst possible way.

Kirkland’s insistence on over-stepping his bounds ultimately didn’t cost the Jazz this game. Instead, Utah pummeled a shockingly inferior opponent to the tune of a 27-point beatdown. That said, it certainly could have…and the fact that Kirkland was willing to compromise and/or de-legitimize the result of a game for an act of vigilantism is shameful.