Doug Gottlieb suspended by Horizon League for officiating rant
By David Wasson
Published:
Green Bay coach – and former college basketball analyst – Doug Gottlieb was suspended for one game by the Horizon League on Wednesday in the wake of Sunday’s postgame rant against game officials.
Gottlieb, who is in his second season coaching the Phoenix, went off on what he perceived to be officiating inconsistencies during a 75-72 road loss to Milwaukee – an outburst that the league said violated its operating regulations.
“I need the league to explain to me why I got a technical foul,” Gottlieb said to reporters after the game. “All we ask is that it’s a fair game. I need the commissioner of the league to explain to me the disparity in the officiating. That’s what I need explained to me. I need somebody to explain to me how every time we touch them, it’s a foul.
“I need the new commissioner of the Horizon League to explain to me what a technical foul is when I don’t leave the (coaching) box, I don’t curse … there’s nothing that should have been called a technical foul. I know when I earn one. I did not earn one. All we ever ask is fair.”
The Horizon League said that Gottlieb will miss Green Bay’s road game Friday against Oakland (7 pm ET, ESPN+). The Phoenix are 15-13 overall and 10-7 in Horizon play – a big jump from Green Bay’s 4-28 overall mark in 2024-25.
“Gottlieb’s postgame comments do not reflect the League’s values or sportsmanship expectations,” the league’s statement read. “The Horizon League considers this matter closed and will have no further comment.”
Gottlieb also issued a statement apologizing for his comments:
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An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
