Even though the lockout is perceived as owners vs. the players union; despite David Sterns claim for unity within the owners, there’s a clear division being big market and small market owners. Tweets from Micky Arison, the Miami Heat owner proves it.
The NBA fined Miami Heat owner Micky Arison $500,000 on Monday for recent comments he made on Twitter that violated the league’s censure on speaking publicly about the lockout, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
NBA commissioner David Stern came down hard for what was a clear undermining of the league’s selling point that the owners are united on demanding sweeping and unprecedented financial givebacks from the Players Association. While the union has long believed there are severe splits between big- and small-market owners, this was the first public sentiment from such a high-ranking NBA official confirming it.
Arison responded to a poster on Twitter who had directed a comment to him questioning, “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.”
In response, Arison posted: “You are barking at the wrong owner.
Hopefully this can kick start improving in-house division between owner. Until the owners are on the same page, this lockout will only continue.