Magic’s Bump Rap: Three Games

Magic Johnson, apparently paying for the actions of others as well as his own, Monday was suspended for three games and fined $10,000 by the NBA for bumping referee Scott Foster during Sunday’s game against Phoenix, the third time the NBA has disciplined a player within a month for making contact with a referee.

The Laker star not only accepted the penalty--the suspension will cost him $30,487.80 a game and $102,463.40 in all, counting $1,000 for Sunday’s ejection--but agreed with it.

“I accept the league’s fine and suspension and I want all the fans, media and everyone associated with the Lakers to know that my actions were unprofessional and wrong,” he said. “I apologize to Scott Foster, to all the NBA referees and to the league, and I hope they know, as I do, that the incident was accidental and that I respect them and their professionalism in what is a very difficult job.

“Hopefully, other players will learn not to even put themselves in a position to make contact with a referee when arguing calls in the future. The important thing is for our players to learn from these mistakes and for us as a team to put this behind us and get prepared for the playoffs.”

That won’t begin to happen until at least Sunday, when Johnson returns for the regular- season finale at Portland after missing games at Dallas tonight, at San Antonio on Thursday and against Minnesota on Saturday at the Forum. At least that tender left Achilles’ tendon is sure to get the rest it needs.

But even then the controversy won’t truly be behind them, not with Nick Van Exel still out for that last game while serving his seven-game suspension for a forearm shove of referee Ron Garretson five days before Johnson’s out-of-character display. In the meantime, the Lakers will have to go at least the 11 days leading to the playoffs, and maybe 12 days, without two of their top six players in the lineup.

Both are allowed to practice and attend game day shoot-arounds as long as they are out of the arena at least two hours before tip-off. But even the best scrimmage is no match for an NBA game in speed and physical play, so getting in sync will have to happen during Game 1 of the playoffs.

“As with Nick Van Exel’s suspension last week, we agree with the league’s decision 100%,” said Jerry West, the Lakers’ executive vice president. “These incidents are regrettable and have been a distraction from what I believe the fans really want to see--the basketball action on the court.”

The incident occurred with 4:13 remaining in the second quarter of the Lakers’ eventual 118-114 victory. Johnson became clearly upset after missing a twisting layup when no foul was called on the Suns’ A.C. Green. Perhaps already agitated about having been whistled for two fouls in the previous two minutes, he yelled at Foster for an explanation.

Getting no response, Johnson walked about 10 feet, to near the sideline across from the Laker bench. Saying later he had wanted to get in front of Foster in another attempt to get the attention of the second-year referee, Johnson bumped his chest into Foster’s right shoulder. He was immediately ejected.

Johnson has grown more embarrassed with each passing hour. He first claimed that Foster had initiated the contact by stopping short, then saw a replay while watching the game in the Laker locker room and summoned an NBC reporter to correct himself and plead guilty. A member of the NBA’s security staff, which takes statements on possible league action, called him on the phone in the trainer’s room during the third quarter, and Johnson repeated his admission.

After the game, he conceded that his actions had been wrong, especially since he had criticized Van Exel only five days earlier. He took the blame, but also suggested that Foster should also accept some for refusing to give Johnson the respect of a veteran and acting team captain.

By Monday morning, Johnson was throwing himself wholly on the mercy of the court. His statement had already been taken, but he still wanted to call Rod Thorn, the man who would hand down the punishment, and offer another mea culpa. Johnson was embarrassed.

“What Van Exel did and what Rodman did, to me, were entirely different,” said Thorn, the league’s senior vice president of operations. “A forearm shiver to the back that threw a guy up onto the table and head-butting someone are very different. Here, there was contact, and I think in Magic’s mind it wasn’t deliberate. But when you look at it, he sure was over in the area where he could do it.”

Thorn would not speculate on how severely Johnson would have been penalized if this had happened five weeks ago, before Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls had head-butted referee Ted Bernhardt and Van Exel had knocked over Garretson. But those incidents clearly were factors in Johnson’s being suspended for three games instead of the one or two he expected.