Fizdale on $30K fine: 'It's worth it to me'

Memphis Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale has no regrets about going off on the officiating after his team's Game 2 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, and not just because his players will apparently be paying his $30,000 fine for him.

Fizdale, whose quotable rant was quickly monetized in shirt form, is just glad the Grizzlies and their fans have something to rally around.

"Hey, if it rallies our fans - and it sounds like we're selling T-shirts right now, and all of the money is going back into our community - it's worth it to me," he told reporters Wednesday.

Fizdale also admitted he hadn't gone into the postgame presser planning to get as fired up as he did.

"Not to that level," he said. "But obviously, I was pretty set on getting the point across."

On top of giving the fans a pair of worthy mantras - "They're not gonna rook us," "Take that for data!" - to tout for this postseason run and perhaps beyond, Fizdale feels his players appreciate his going to bat for them.

"I think it matters to them when a coach steps up and fights for them," he said, noting that even some of his former players - like Dwyane Wade and Olden Polynice - had texted him their support and approval.

"And coaches pull this card a lot," he said. "I'm not sitting here acting I'm any more original than any other coach. But, you're fighting for your team, and you're fighting for your life in the playoffs, and you just don't have room to let things go into the next year. The series can be over. So, you'll always fight for your guys."