Before Miami’s Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers Thursday night, Shane Battier, one of the NBA’s most scrutinized performance artists, had some thoughts on flopping, and the trio of $5,000 fines the league doled out to LeBron James, David West and Lance Stephenson:
“Money. Money is always the [thing],” Battier said. “People say public scorn, the humilation. Guys could care less if they’re publicly humiliated.”
“If they want to put an opera of all my charges on there or flops or whatever, go for it. You take $10 from me, and I’m upset,” Battier said. “Money.”
More Battier: “No one cares. In our society now, labels don’t matter. They change every 10 minutes, so who cares? But money — that hurts. I hate to sound like a capitalist, but that’s much more effective than public humiliation.”
Ask, and ye shall receive, Mr. Battier.
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