NBA hits Wolves with $100K in fines

[Cobb]

NEW YORK -- The NBA has fined Minnesota Timberwolves president David Kahn $50,000 for his comments about forward Michael Beasley's marijuana use.

 

The league also fined the Timberwolves organization $50,000 Friday for what it called inappropriate comments.

 

In an interview with 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, Kahn called the recently acquired Beasley "a very young and immature kid who smoked too much marijuana" while he was playing in Miami.

ESPN.com

[Poe]

Here we go again... Should I say it? I think I'll pass this time.

 

 

 

 

Edit- Oh what the heck: It shouldn't be a crime to say what's on your mind.

Edited July 23, 2010 by Poe

[Universe]

I don't get why he got fined? If he was injured a lot in Miami and stated he was often injured in Miami, would he have been fined? He's just stating the truth about his player.

[Nitro]

He shouldn't be talking about his drug addiction like that to the media. Period.

 

Also, what the quoted part of the article doesn't mention is he also called Chris Webber a schmuck in the interview. I think that's where the $50,000 fine for "inappropriate comments" came from.

 

Kahn is seriously becoming the worst GM in NBA history. God damn.

[Poe]

I really don't understand why so many people are against free speech. It's ridiculous.

[Nitro]

I really don't understand why so many people are against free speech. It's ridiculous.

 

No one's against free speach. But if what you say hurts the public perception of your team and league, Stern should have the right to hand out fines. This is a business, and you do what you can to protect the image of the corporation.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Nitro1118

[Poe]

No one's against free speach. But if what you say hurts the public perception of your team and league, Stern should have the right to hand out fines. This is a business, and you do what you can to protect the image of the corporation.

 

 

So free speech is OK until someone else doesn't like what you have to say?

[Nitro]

So free speech is OK until someone else doesn't like what you have to say?

 

It's like any business bro. You do what you can to protect your image. It's a privilege, not a right to be an NBA owner. If you are an owner of a team, you are a representative of the NBA. He can say what he wants, but he's going to get slapped with a fine if he says something that could hurt the league's image. Talking about Beasley's drug problem, a VERY personal topic, and calling a former NBA great and current NBATV employee a schmuck is offensive. He said it, and he's going to get punished by the commisioner for it. Case closed.

[JWaLL]

I really don't understand why so many people are against free speech. It's ridiculous.

Can you imagine how interviews and press conferences would be if NBA players could say whatever they want?

[Cobb]

David Kahn, Timberwolves President, obviously never watched the Chappelle show...When keeping it real goes wrong..."He smoked a lot of weed"

Marcellus Wiley's Twitter

[AllenIverson#1fan]

Kahn should get fired right away. He is the worstGM in the NBA today. Talking about a player on your team's recent problems is not your business or the world's business it's his business only.

[Lone Wolf]

Kahn should get fired right away. He is the worstGM in the NBA today. Talking about a player on your team's recent problems is not your business or the world's business it's his business only.

Oh, okay!

[Poe]

Can you imagine how interviews and press conferences would be if NBA players could say whatever they want?

 

 

Yea, imagine that.. A world where you can truly speak out your opinion without the restraints that society sets around you.... without the fear that you say one thing that someone else doesn't like, they can take $100,000 dollars of your hard earned money.

 

 

But of course, nobody agrees with me on that. Someone gets their feewwings hurt, they cry and go tell on him to the commissioner, and the commish puts them in time out and takes away their 100k allowance. And apparently, that's justice! We're all a bunch of [expletive]ing babies.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Poe

[Poe]

It's like any business bro. You do what you can to protect your image. It's a privilege, not a right to be an NBA owner. If you are an owner of a team, you are a representative of the NBA. He can say what he wants, but he's going to get slapped with a fine if he says something that could hurt the league's image. Talking about Beasley's drug problem, a VERY personal topic, and calling a former NBA great and current NBATV employee a schmuck is offensive. He said it, and he's going to get punished by the commisioner for it. Case closed.

 

They buy the team, it's not given to them.

 

 

Also, your image is not created as much by what you say, but by what you do. You know, actions speak louder than words? Prevent fights to protect the league's image, not opinions.

 

And besides, he wasn't even speaking an opinion about Beasley. Beasley used to be immature and he smoked marijuana. It's a fact.

[Nitro]

They buy the team, it's not given to them.

 

I know they buy the team, but the league has the ability to reject a purchase. As I said, it is a privilege, not a right to own an NBA team. And when you own the team, you are representing not only your team, but the NBA. And if the higher authority feels you made inappropriate comments, he should have every right to hand out major fines. That's not trampeling on free speach, that's just business.

 

Also, your image is not created as much by what you say, but by what you do. You know, actions speak louder than words? Prevent fights to protect the league's image, not opinions.

 

You're looking at it from your own personal viewpoint and not how an actual billion dollar business looks at it. If you don't think your image is largely shaped by what you say, you're dellusional. And considering owners don't play in the games and the only PR they get is from what they say, I'd say their contribution to the NBA's image is very much contingent upon their words.

 

And besides, he wasn't even speaking an opinion about Beasley. Beasley used to be immature and he smoked marijuana. It's a fact.

 

It's not his opinion (which implied that Beasley's smoking caused his dissapointing play in Miami) that is the issue. It's his decision to bring a 21 year old's drug addiction to the forefront in the media. It was very inappropriate. Trust me, if you had a drug addiction and were a year removed from it, the last thing you'd want is your new boss bringing it all up again to the media.

 

And once again, not only did he say that about Beasley, but he also called a former NBA great (and current NBATV employee) a schmuck on live radio. Not morally wrong like the Beasley thing, but still inappropriate.

[Poe]

I may have my own opinions about a lot of things, like being opposed to the idea that your image is important, and how society has shaped what makes a good image, when none of it actually matters.

 

I have my own opinions, and I can understand if people disagree with these things, but one thing I will never back away from is freedom. In this case, the freedom of expression. Just like it's written in the constitution by the US' founding fathers. That is something I will never stop fighting for.

 

Nobody should ever be punished for expressing themselves, especially if it's only because somebody didn't like what they had to say. Kahn expressing how he feels about Beasley and Webber is not worth 100,000 dollars. He was only giving his opinion.

[Nitro]

Nobody should ever be punished for expressing themselves, especially if it's only because somebody didn't like what they had to say.

 

Again, it's not a matter of Kahn getting his freedom of speach repressed. It's his boss considering what he said inappropriate and negatively effecting the company's image, which effects the business revenue. If I was working at a supermarket and told a customer that I hate black people, should I not get punished? I would just be expressing myself, and the only way it can hurt the person I said it to is if he/she percieves it a certain way...don't you see how ridiculous that idea is?

 

Kahn expressing how he feels about Beasley and Webber is not worth 100,000 dollars. He was only giving his opinion.

 

The Beasley thing was not about him getting fined for his opinion. It was him getting fined for essentially violating Beasley's privacy in an inappropriate manner on a radio show, which has further attracted the attention of the national media.

[Poe]

You can go ahead and word it however you want. "Violated" ... "inappropriate". It still comes down to exactly what I just said. He got fined for expressing his opinion. You cannot deny that, because that is exactly what happened.

[Nitro]

You can go ahead and word it however you want. "Violated" ... "inappropriate". It still comes down to exactly what I just said. He got fined for expressing his opinion. You cannot deny that, because that is exactly what happened.

 

He got fined for two reasons- 1) The things he said about Beasley were inappropriate. The "opinion" was that Beasley's drug use/immaturity caused his disappointing play in Miami. What he got fined for his the detail and wording. If he simply said Beasley had some off-court issues in Miami that hindered his play, he would have been clear. By going into detail about such a personal subject matter puts Beasley's privacy at risk and is completely unnecessary on Kahn's part. If you had a drug problem, you would understand how it's completely wrong to do what Kahn did (especially since Beasley's supposedly been clean for a year or so). 2) It's a business. If you go about doing something in an inappropriate manner that makes the company look bad, you'll get punished and EVERY business has the right to that. See my analogy in the previous post.