The end of the Boston Celtics’ season was already ugly enough. Boston had dropped three straight games after going up 3-1, and the frustration clearly stayed with Jaylen Brown long after Game 7 ended. During a livestream, Brown openly accused Joel Embiid of flopping and questioned the way the series had been officiated, claiming referees had treated him differently because of his reputation and previous criticism of officials. Considering Brown had already been fined once earlier this season for similar comments, it did not take long for people to expect another response from the league.

“Boston Celtics guard-forward Jaylen Brown has been fined $50,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced today by James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations. Brown made his comments on a livestream on May 3 following the Celtics’ 109-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series on May 2 at TD Garden.”

Brown did not simply complain about one call. He accused officials of targeting him because of his reputation and past criticism, saying on Twitch that they “clearly had an agenda.”

“Why are you targeting me?” Brown shared. “They clearly had an agenda, maybe because I spoke so critically of them in the regular season. So, you know how they responded. You’re going to lead the playoffs in offensive fouls… and I actually spoke to some refs, and they said there was an agenda going into each game. Like anytime Jaylen brings his arm up, just from reputation, call it.”

Brown also escalated the criticism further during the stream by saying, “There’s some referees that need to be investigated,” while arguing that officials had already decided to whistle him for pushing off before games even started. That is largely where the NBA tends to draw the line. Complaining about calls is one thing, but implying coordinated bias or questioning the integrity of officiating usually brings much harsher punishment from the league office.

The Celtics star even showed and analyzed a play from Game 7 where Paul George performed the same maneuver and hit a triple. “Do you know how many players do that? That’s the common play, a basketball play,” Brown said about the push off. At another point in the livestream, he added, “Every good basketball player does this. What are y’all talking about?” as he continued defending the move. It’s not the first time that Brown has made a statement against the referees.

In January, he was fined $35,000 for publicly criticizing officiating after Boston’s 100-95 loss to the Spurs on Jan. 10 at TD Garden. Those comments were made both during a press interview and on social media, prompting league action. The NBA’s official release at the time specifically noted that Brown’s comments came “to the press and on social media,” which matters now because this latest incident can easily be viewed as a repeat offense rather than a one-off emotional reaction after a playoff loss. The latest fine also represented a clear escalation from the earlier punishment, jumping from $35,000 to $50,000 after Brown again publicly questioned officials.

While he was frustrated, fans, analysts, and current NBA players slammed the Celtics star for his behavior.

Stephen A. Smith and Draymond Green questioned Jaylen Brown’s antics

Many viewed the criticism from Brown as a move which avoid accountability. “Bro, you get paid over $300 million. You were an MVP candidate,” said Smith on First Take. “The point is, when something like that happens, you cannot have that residue of that experience you’re griping about, Joel Embiid flopping. That is not why the Boston Celtics lost.” Stephen A. Smith reminded Jaylen Brown that the Celtics missed 11 of their last 12 shots and were a horrible 13-49 from 3-point range in Game 7.

Similarly, Draymond Green added, “However, as you all know, not a huge fan of calling the guy out once you lost.” He continued, “I just don’t love that because it comes off as excuse-making. A lot of people are trying to say, ‘Oh man, Jaylen Brown making an excuse.’ When you, in fact, could be telling the dead honest truth, but because you lost, people are always going to say, ‘There’s the excuse.’ And I feel like you end up wasting one of your bullets because it doesn’t hold weight anyway because you lost.”

Even though many viewed it as problematic, Jaylen Brown had to say his piece. He has been vocal throughout his career and has never backed down from any challenge on and off the court.