Talk and the NBA Will Fine You

I was pretty incensed when the NBA was talking about fining Mark Cuban because of what he said about Michael Finley. To me, it just seemed like they were going entirely overboard. Well, this latest story, that the Sonics co-owner will be fined $250,000 (which is pretty sizable), pretty much has me thinking that it’s best to just keep your lips sealed in the Association these days.

The NBA has fined Sonics co-owner Aubrey McClendon $250,000 for comments he made about the team’s future in Seattle, an NBA source confirmed late Wednesday.

In an Aug. 12 story in an Oklahoma business newspaper, McClendon was quoted as saying: “But we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle. We hoped to come here. We know it’s a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it’s great for the community and if we could break even, we’d be thrilled.”

Here’s my favorite part:

The specific violation of NBA rules was not disclosed, but Commissioner David Stern has wide latitude to levy fines for behavior and statements he deems not in the best interest of the league.

Now, if that ain’t some messed up crap, I don’t know what is. Talk about ruling with an iron fist. This is like Communist Russia man. Basically, just keep your mouth shut and you’re all good. Oh yeah, but refs betting on games? That’s totally cool.