Micky Arison, Miami Heat Owner, Fined $500k for NBA Lockout Comments

Following a series of NBA lockout-related tweets between Miami Heat owner Micky Arison and some of his followers on Twitter, commissioner David Stern has dropped the proverbial hammer to the tune of a reported half-million dollar fine.

On Friday night an NBA fan asked Arison via a Tweet:

“How does it feel to be a part of ruining the best game in the world? NBA owners/players don’t give a damn about fans … Fans provide all the money you’re fighting over … you greedy pigs.”

Arison replied: “You are barking at the wrong owner.”

In addition to the “barking” comment, Arison also said that owners “care alot” about the NBA’s fans and laughed when asked for his opinion of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Though he quickly thought better of his comments, deleting the Tweets less than an hour later, it was too late as the posts spread rapidly across the web forcing the league to take notice.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the league has fined Arison. He didn’t specify the amount of the fine, but Yahoo! Sports reported it was $500,000.

Arison’s hefty fine marks the third time the league has penalized an owner for improper public comments regarding the labor situation.

Last year, Stern fined Wizards owner Ted Leonsis $100,000 for comments about the owners’ want for a hard salary cap. And last month, Stern fined Bobcats owner Michael Jordan $100,000 for telling an Australian media outlet the NBA’s current business model was “broken.”

What are your thoughts on Micky Arison’s fine? Is $500k too extreme given the nature of Arison’s tweets?