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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri $35,000 for cursing in public Saturday at a pep rally before their playoff game against the Wizards. Last season, he was fined $25,000 for cursing at another playoff prep rally before the Raptors played the Nets.
To see Toronto's Hypeman-in-Chief, here's the clip once again (via Christopher Principe's YouTube Channel), and our quick analysis. (NSFW language):
In addition, Silver fined the Raptors organization $25,000 for supporting such uncivil behavior.
I'll reiterate that I like the fact that Ujiri is as passionate as Raptors fans are for their playoff series, even if he spewed some dirty language. But when he curses for the second year in a row -- and does so in front of the Commissioner -- he knew this fine was coming.
Don't worry about how much this will affect Ujiri's livelihood, let alone the Raptors' bottom line. I don't think that $35,000 is going to be that big of a dent to his estimated $3 million annual salary. He is in the second year of a five-year contract worth about $15 million. And the Raptors' total fine of $60,000 is chump change for the windfalls they're making in playoff revenue.
I don't know what "it" is. But the Raptors didn't have "it," the Wizards knows what "it" is at the very least, and the NBA made it clear that it cares when someone talks about ... "it."
Enough of "it" already. Onward to Game 2!