IN BRIEF : NBA Fines Knicks’ Coach $3,000

Rick Pitino, coach of the New York Knicks, has been fined $3,000 by the NBA for remaining near the playing area after being ejected from a game against the Chicago Bulls, the league announced today.

Pitino was fined for violating a league rule which states: “A player, coach or assistant coach, upon being notified by an official that he has been ejected from the game, must leave the playing area immediately and remain in the dressing room of his team during such suspension until completion of the game or leave the building.”

Rod Thorn, vice president of operations for the NBA, said, “Coach Pitino was fined a lesser amount for a similar violation last season. This was a blatant violation of a rule which he was well aware of and, therefore, required a stiffer penalty.”

The game, at Chicago Stadium last Friday night, was televised back to the New York area and the cameras showed Pitino standing in a runway near the tunnel to the dressing rooms. A television commentator said Pitino was using a team public relations man to relay messages to his assistant coaches.