The NBA has fined Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri $25,000 for obscene language directed towards the Nets in a public setting before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced today.
Ujiri said “F— Brooklyn!” to a crowd of Toronto Raptors fans at a pre-game rally, which was recorded by a fan on Instagram. Ujiri apologized for the remark at halftime, but added “I don’t like them” in reference to the Nets.
Given the recent fines for language, Ujiri may have gotten off easy. On June 26th, 2012, Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire was fined $50,000 by the league for using a homosexual slur in a private Twitter message towards a fan. And on January 18th, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $100,000 by the league for confronting referees with inappropriate language. (Though to be fair, that was considered a ceremonial gesture by former NBA commissioner David Stern, who fined Cuban at his request one last time before Stern’s retirement.)
For context, Jason Kidd was fined $50,000 by the league on November 28th for intentionally spilling a drink on the court when he was out of time-outs in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. But that was when the league commissioner was David Stern, not Silver.
