The relationship between players and referees is a tricky one. No matter what sport you play, referees can either be with you or against you. Houston Rockets star James Harden knows all about that as he questioned the officiating of referee Scott Foster after fouling out during the team's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Thanks to his tirade against the referees, Harden has been fined $25,000 by the league as per the rule that you can't publicly criticize an official.
"Scott Foster, man. I never really talk about officiating or anything like that, but just rude and arrogant," Harden said according to ESPN. "I mean, you aren't able to talk to him throughout the course of the game, and it's like, how do you build that relationship with officials? And it's not even that call [on the sixth foul]. It's just who he is on that floor. It's pretty frustrating. And I'm probably going to get hit [with a fine], but honestly, I don't really say anything. I'm a pretty quiet guy, to myself, but it's one of those things where you can't voice your opinion. You can't have a conversation with someone that's officiating the game. You're getting a tech. It's pretty sad."
The Houston Rockets are ranked fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 34-25.
