Mike Brown Suspended For One Game After Bumping The Referee (VIDEO)

Coach Mike Brown won't be on the sidelines for Monday's game. Instead, he'll be relaxing in a hotel room with a Philly cheesesteak in hand as assistant coach John Kuester takes the reigns.

The league suspended Brown for one game and slapped a $25,000 fine on the Lakers' new coach for "making contact" with a referee during last Friday's game against the Utah Jazz. But while Brown is apologetic to his team, he's not sweating the league's decision.

He told the Associated Press that "I wish I wouldn't have put my team in a hole or predicament like that. Now I need to make sure that I don't do it again in the future."

Brown will be watching tonight's game in a much more relaxed state than he usually does. Instead of pacing up and down the court, he'll be eating a cheesesteak sandwich, courtesy of Philly native Kobe Bryant. Brown told ESPN Los Angeles, "Kobe said he's going to take care of me ... I love cheesesteaks, so Kobe said he's going to send me one from the best place in Philly, a place called Larry's."

Brown became incensed during the fourth quarter of Friday's game when Pau Gasol was knocked to the ground and the refs didn't call a foul on the Jazz. The Lakers coach walked onto the court to shout at the game official, who then called a technical foul on him. Becoming even more outraged, Brown "bumped" the referee before being dragged off the court by none other than Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes -- two of the Lakers' biggest hotheads. The Lakers coach didn't see the end of the game, which Lakers lost 96-87.

NBA Executive Vice President Stu Jackson announced the suspension and fine on Monday.

All photos by the Associated Press.

Comments

[LAL57]

06:43 PM on 02/08/2012

Sorry, I ment Pau got mugged, not Pow!

[LAL57]

06:29 PM on 02/08/2012

Chick Hern used to say no arm, no harm, no blood, and no foul. Pow got mugged. The ref swallowed his whistle. The Lakers lost. Mike Brown should not have lost his head like he did.

[stormwater]

06:13 PM on 02/07/2012

A egregious non-call against the Jazz in Utah? This must be a first!

[rikatnite]

09:38 AM on 02/07/2012

Gasol was MUGGED. Brown definitley had a case. The OFFICIAL should be suspended or docked.

[LIBERALandProudOfIt]

06:46 AM on 02/07/2012

I just love that during the "live action" the director decided to show a shot Gasol and then a Jazz player instead of showing the important thing and that was the coach going nuts on the ref.

Aren't there ANY directors who are actually watching the game?

[Steve Rockett]

02:03 AM on 02/07/2012

hate the lakers, but bad call

[Stew118]

11:27 PM on 02/06/2012

pretty egregious no-call

[socalcde]

10:34 PM on 02/06/2012

This is worrisome.

[alreadybad]

12:03 PM on 02/07/2012

Refs have been worrisome for sometime now.

[socalcde]

12:12 PM on 02/07/2012

I was referring to how Brown handled the situation, but I guess you knew that.

[leorangerie]

08:42 PM on 02/06/2012

It's clear to the dullest eye that the refs totally blew the non-call. Mistakes happen, but that was a garish mess up. And Mike Brown? Get a "T", but not two. Show some class. That won't sit well with the Laker ownership, trust me.