Skip to main content

NBA dishes out a hefty $500,000 fine for tweeting

nba-stern
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Micky Arison, the owner of the Miami Heat, got a nasty surprise on Monday from officials at the NBA. Arison was hit with a half million dollar fine for using his Twitter account to respond to fans about the lockout. Arison, also the CEO of the Carnival cruise line, has about 25,000 followers and the account has been verified by Twitter. The tweets that caught the attention of NBA officials occurred on Friday when Arison fired off a series of whimsical replies to NBA fans that are frustrated about the current status of the lockout. While he deleted many of the tweets within an hour of posting, David Stern and other NBA officials were petitioned by owners of NBA teams to request a hefty fine. Under the current agreement, NBA owners are under strict instructions not to discuss the ongoing negotiations. 

nba_lockout1One of the more inflammatory tweets from a fan stated “How’s it feel to be apart of ruining the best game in the world? NBA owners/players don’t give a damn about fans and guess what? Fans provide all the money you’re fighting over, you greedy pigs.” Arison responded with “You are barking at the wrong owner.”

Recommended Videos

This tweet indicates that there’s a growing divide between NBA owners regarding the negotiating terms of the lockout. After tweeting about the NBA situation, Arison has pulled back from lockout issues and seems to be tweeting about Carnival as well as family. 

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is also no stranger to NBA fines for tweets. In 2009, Cuban was fined $25,000 for tweeting negative comments about the officiating crew at a game. Also in 2009, NBA player Brandon Jennings used Twitter right after a game and violated a NBA rule about tweeting before all players have finished post-game media interviews. Fines for tweeting aren’t simply restricted to the NBA either. In 2010, Terrell Owens violated the NFL’s rule of tweeting 90 minutes before a game and received a $5,000 fine. 

Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
Topics
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more
Worried about the TikTok ban? This is how it might look on your phone
TikTok splash screen on an Android phone.

The US Supreme Court has decided to uphold a law that would see TikTok banned in the country on January 19. Now, the platform has issued an official statement, confirming that it will indeed shut down unless it gets some emergency relief from the outgoing president.

“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” said the company soon after the court’s verdict.
So, what does going dark mean?
So, far, there is no official statement on what exactly TikTok means by “going dark.” There is a lot of speculation out there on how exactly the app or website will look once TikTok shutters in the US.

Read more