I wonder, is the fine required to come out of his personal salary or does the club just take the hit and pay it for him?

After the second tech was thrown out, he did go overboard. But after watching a lot of games this season, maybe some referees need to be fined for horrible performance!! Ha ha

Does anyone know who sits on the tribunal panel??

Tribunal chairman is Scott Derwin.

Hearing
The hearing was conducted by teleconference at the request of the Townsville club. The tribunal interviewed by telephone the three game officials and coach, Woolpert. The tribunal also had the opportunity of reviewing videos of the game and incident supplied by the NBL and Townsville as well as written submissions from Townsville.

Coach Woolpert pleaded guilty to both charges.

Finding/s
Coach Woolpert is found guilty of both charges.

The tribunal views the behaviour of coach Woolpert which led to his ejection from the game as very serious and not something that this sport is prepared to tolerate. His behaviour was physically threatening, intimidating and confronting. Whilst he may have been frustrated by some perceived refereeing decisions, this, in no way, allows him to behave in this manner. It has brought the sport into disrespect and disrepute. On any view of the incident, it was very ugly and such that the referees had concerns as to whether it might escalate into an even more serious situation.

Penalty/penalties
Coach Woolpert is fined $3,500 for these offences. This must be paid to the NBL by Friday, 27th January 2012. If it is not paid by that date, Coach Woolpert will be suspended and not allowed to coach in the next four NBL games in which Townsville is playing.

In addition, Coach Woolpert is given a suspended four game penalty. That is, if Coach Woolpert comes before the NBL Tribunal again on any charge for which he is found guilty before the end of season 2012/13 he will be immediately suspended for four NBL games in addition to any other penalty that is imposed as a result of his further appearance before the Tribunal.

The tribunal has taken into account, in setting these penalties in the mid range, the contriteness of Woolpert during the hearing and his guilty pleas, but on his own admission he has previously been ejected from quite a number of games. He must learn that this is not the type of behaviour that the NBL will accept and will need to moderate his behaviour in the future.

Love how refs can claim they were "physically intimidated" just 'cause they're getting yelled at. Or even better was that time ex-Crocs import Casey Calvary was suspended for "looking at a referee"!

The worst tribunal decision in recent memory though was when Gleeson was fined for a ref running into HIM!

Don't have much of a problem with this judgment, he lost his shit and got ejected, but that’s where the reprimand should have stopped. Still it's not unreasonable to fine him.

Gleason droped the shoulder and made no attempt to get out of the way when the ref was running down the court trying to do his job.

^ i was just about to say the same thing anon. couldnt agree more that Gleeson was also at fault. Referees ref the game not the sideline, so dont get in the way, simple as that.

any footage of the woolpert incident on the net?

the amount of some of the fines the tribunal hands out is ridiculous. tehy seem to think the players and coaches are on NBA money. woolpert would be on around 150k but 3500 still seems excessive.

couple years ago one of the owners said he'd pay the fine for one of the coaches if he bagged the refs in the post game press conference. think it was cairns

ANON. Watch the video. The referee claimed that Gleeson intentionally took him out, not that he was in breach of a no-go zone. Completely out of line making an accusation like that. Absolutely false. Gleeson wasn't charged for walking onto the court.

As for Woolpert, is that incident really worth the highest EVER fine in NBL history for a coaching infraction?

If it was peanuts, it wouldn't discourage future offenders. The tribunal notes suggested Woolpert had a history too.

on his own admission he has previously been ejected from quite a number of games

His behaviour was physically threatening, intimidating and confronting.

It wasnt a coaching infraction.

It was a behavioural infraction.

A coaching infraction would be telling someone to run horns instead of a full press ie, you made a mistake in your coaching.

Woolpert just had a brain fade and screwed up. At least he owned up to it.

I meant an infraction against someone who is coaching, you nitpicker. An infraction means a violation of rules not a screw-up.

I WILL SAY THIS AGAIN: I don't disagree with the ejection, I'm asking if you personally think this warrants the highest fine ever laid against a coach in NBL history?

It wasnt an infraction against someone coaching either. It was an infraction by someone coaching.

And yes, the fine was quite in line with his behaviour. You cannot threaten a referee. Ever.