Stephen Jackson was not messing around when he issued a threat to Serge Ibaka over Twitter on Friday night, and now he is paying the price. The NBA fined him $25,000 for his threat.
The Spurs swingman was watching the Thunder-Lakers game and saw Ibaka scuffle with Metta World Peace. The incident must have reminded him about his past run-ins with Ibaka — they had one in last season’s Western Conference Finals and another at the beginning of this season — and it prompted him to threaten the Thunder forward.
We gave Jackson a break on Friday by saying he must have meant it in jest, but we figured a fine was coming. It did.
Jackson also apologized on Sunday. He wrote the following on Instagram:
“I apologize to @sergeibaka, the NBA, and to all my fans for the comments I made. It was unprofessional and childish. I’m not a thug just a man who speaks his mind. It was not appropriate. I do apologize. Only a man can admit when he’s wrong.”
We appreciate that Jackson apologized, but it still doesn’t clear him from doing something that was not only foolish, but offensive. The NBA described his tweet as hostile. It certainly was. I know a lot of people enjoy toughness in the NBA like the old days, but it’s totally inappropriate to threaten to smash a player in his mouth.
