PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS’ RUDY FERNANDEZ FINED NEW YORK, October 11, 2010 – Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers has been fined $50,000 for public statements detrimental to the NBA, the league announced today. The statements, which concerned a desire to be released by the Trail Blazers, were made by Fernandez’s agent, Gerard Darnes, on October 6. Fernandez was previously fined $25,000 on August 19 for statements concerning his desire to be traded or released by Portland.
So a bench player like Rudy has now been fined $75k for wanting a trade, but Kobe Bryant was never fined a dime for demanding out of Los Angeles three years ago. David Stern, god love you and your rigged league.
I call bullshit on this one. That's almost 8% of his salary for the season. Stern fears that Portland may knock off his Lakers, so he is trying to create chaos in the Blazer locker room. As I posted earlier, Kobe Bryant was never fined for his summer of "trade me" in 2007.
The NBA is doing a fine job of screwing the little man. No way should Rudy be fined 75K when Kobe was on ESPN demanding to be traded. Fucking stupid.
I don't see HCP as a sign bearer but I bet I could see a few fans here supporting Rudy. "Rudy = voice 'n be fined, Koby = Sterns Puppet"
There is no "rule" if it was not negotiated in the CBA. Stern has the discretion to fine due to the last CBA. This was deliberately done to cause dissension within the Blazer organization, IMO.
Who leaked that Chris Paul wanted to be traded? Who leaked that Carmelo Anthony wanted to be traded? Is the NBA investigating those huge stories of this past summer?
Stern can definitely establish guidelines without negotiation. I am not aware of whether he did so in this case, but it seems logical that Stern might have let players and teams know that, moving forward, players could be fined for comments such as these. Another possibility is that Kobe didn't say anything about the league. He wanted to be traded, but he wanted to be traded to another NBA team. That's a difference that could lead to a different result than Rudy's. I think that the idea that Stern is trying to mess up the Blazers by fining a guy who doesn't want to play for Portland is pretty ... strange. Ed O.
WRONG It was clearly a part of the last CBA that was signed. It's been enforced on a subjective basis, though, as I posted examples in a previous post. I take it you weren't a contract lawyer?
Even more shitty that fines of $50k or less can't be appealed. Rudy is simply getting fucked by David Stern, and by proxy, so are the Blazers.
Oh Rudy, you're so fined you're so fined you blow my mind, hey Rudy (huff huff), hey Rudy (huff huff)
