The NBA fined Jaylen Brown $50,000 on Tuesday for public criticism two days after the Boston Celtics guard commented on the league’s officiating during a Twitch livestream following their first-round exit.

The fine was announced by James Jones and was the second time in four months that Brown had been sanctioned for public comments about referees, as the league fined him $35,000 in January after a postgame rant following Boston’s home loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

The comments that drew Tuesday’s fine came the day after Boston’s 109-100 Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Jaylen Brown, who led the Celtics in scoring during the series, took to his regular Twitch stream and directed his frustration at the officiating throughout the playoff run.

“They keep saying, like, this push-off and stuff like that. You know how many players do that? That is such a common basketball play. Every player does it. So why are you targeting me? They clearly had an agenda,” Jaylen Brown said.

He went further, adding that referees had communicated to him earlier in the season that he would “lead the playoffs in offensive fouls.” Brown also said some referees “need to be investigated.”

However, the NBA’s press release did not specify which comments triggered the fine, citing only “public criticism of the officiating” as the basis for the penalty.

Having said that, Brown’s frustration has not been isolated to just this postseason.

Jaylen Brown Fine Follows Pattern of Officiating Tension With Celtics

After Boston’s January loss to San Antonio, Brown went on a two-minute postgame rant that drew the $35,000 sanction. The escalation to $50,000 for Tuesday’s fine reflects the league’s standard practice of increasing penalties for repeat violations within the same season.

On the same Twitch stream, Jaylen Brown also took aim at Sixers star Joel Embiid for flopping.

“Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in basketball history, but he flops,” Brown said. “He knows it. This ain’t breaking news.”

Those comments drew responses from several current and former players, though the league’s fine addressed only the officiating remarks.

That being said, Jaylen Brown is heading into the final year of his contract, and how the Celtics respond to a first-round exit after reaching the Finals in three of the past four seasons will define the offseason, with front office decisions around the roster carrying as much weight as anything said on a Twitch stream.

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Written by

Shahul Hameed

Edited by

Arvind Rao