Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
MIKE CRANSTON
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Atlanta forward Josh Smith made obscene gestures to the crowd as he left for the locker room following his second-quarter ejection Saturday night in the Hawks' game against Charlotte.
Smith raised both middle fingers to the crowd as he was about halfway through the tunnel, apparently reacting to being heckled by fans.
Smith was not in the locker room after the game, won by Charlotte 104-85, but coach Mike Woodson said he talked to Smith after the game.
"I didn't see it," Woodson said. "I was told that, but I'll have to look at the tape ... like the NBA will do. And I'm sure they'll act accordingly if he did that."
Smith, upset at being called for an offensive foul, was given a technical foul late in the second quarter. He continued arguing and was quickly given a second technical and an ejection.
Before making the obscene gestures, Smith kicked a pile of towels and jerseys behind the bench, sending them in several different directions.
"He just can't put himself in that position, to the point that he loses his cool," Woodson said.
Smith is the second Atlanta professional athlete to make an obscene gesture to fans in two months.
In November, Falcons quarterback Michael Vick also raised both middle fingers to Atlanta fans who heckled him as he left the field after a 31-13 loss to New Orleans. Vick apologized, paid a $10,000 fine and donated another $10,000 to charity.
Smith, who came into the game averaging 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds, finished with two points and four rebounds on 1-of-4 shooting.
Smith went straight from high school to the NBA and was taken by the Hawks with the 17th pick in the 2004 draft.
"There obviously will be consequences for something like that," Hawks forward Marvin Williams said. "I'm sure he'll apologize for what he's done. In the heat of battle your emotions come out sometimes. That's what happens."