Twitter has been the cause of many fines for athletes since they joined en masse back in 2009. By now you’d think they’d remember they aren’t having a lowkey conversation with friends or even a few fans. Twitter handles are included on EVERYTHING. So pretty much whatever you tweet, you sort of have to treat it as if you’re in an interview on national TV right after your game.
Spurs Stephen Jackson tweeted a message to Thunder forward Serge Ibaka on Friday, letting him know Serge “ain’t about THIS life.” Apparently the NBA and the Spurs felt that was a threat and didn’t take to kindly to it. Jackson was fined $25,000 by the NBA and he issued the obligatory apology.
”The recent public comments made by Stephen Jackson are absolutely unacceptable, cannot be tolerated and do not reflect the standards held by the San Antonio Spurs,” Spurs general manager RC Buford said Sunday night in an emailed statement.
The team said Jackson would be fined, but the punishment would ”be imposed in consultation and coordination between the Spurs and the NBA.”
As of Sunday night, Jackson was posting photos of his luxury vehicles on Instagram with the quote, “I ain’t got no worries.” Plus, I’m sure his message was felt even if he had to pay $25K to get his point across.
