Jimmy Butler, Heat draw unusual fine from NBA
Jan 22, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) controls the ball against the Washington Wizards during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Paul Simon once sang about 50 ways to leave your lover. Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat will probably sing about 50 ways to get fined by the NBA.
Butler and the Heat drew an unusual fine from the league Thursday, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Butler was fined $15,000 for making “an obscene gesture” when he did a thrusting motion on the bench during Tuesday’s series-clinching victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The Heat also got fined a separate $15,000 for turning the moment into a GIF and posting it in a since-deleted tweet to their official page.
Here was the moment that led to the fine.
Lmao somebody come get Jimmy Butler 🤣💀pic.twitter.com/Oyv90Azdcn
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 27, 2022
Butler had a funny response to the fine on Instagram, calling on the NBA to announce teammate Tyler Herro as Sixth Man of the Year alongside the fine.
There has been some precedent this season for the NBA fining star players because of obscene gestures. But for Butler to get fined over a game he was not even playing in (and for the Heat to draw a separate fine for a post on social media) is certainly not something that you see every day.