Michael Jordan could lose $1 million this weekend at the American Century Classic golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, which isn’t out of the ordinary for the notorious gambler. But this loss would come in the form of a fine from the NBA.
Jordan, part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, could be fined if he is paired with or even speaks to any of the five players who are participating in the Lake Tahoe pro-am. The five players are Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Jason Kidd, Deron Williams and Jimmer Fredette.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported that Jordan was confirmed to appear at the tournament. Jordan contacted the NBA on Tuesday to clarify the issue but was informed that he would be fined if he was to play a round with, or have any communication with any of the players.
Since there will be media in attendance, I’m sure the league doesn’t want the impression of being lenient on their public blackout policy towards players that was instituted on July 1.
Jordan’s possible participation in the tournament is just one of the potentially fineable situations we’ve seen recently. Portland Trailblazer’s acting GM Chad Buchanan was warned about comments made about a Las Vegas Summer League.
Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn called a press conference after firing former head coach Kurt Rambis and mentioned multiple players in a question and answer session and Mark Cuban went to the ESPYs with players from his team. Cuban received pre-approved clearance from the league for the event, as long as he didn’t discuss any league business or the collective bargaining agreement.
Since the beginning of the lockout on July 1, no team executive has been issued a fine by the league but this probably won’t last too long considering the egos of some of the executives in the league.