Josh Smith has got to be a complete moron if he thinks he has any chance of winning the appeal to his $25,000 fine.

His logic behind his appeal is more outlandish in nature, and shows Smith could have benefitted greatly from a college education:

“I was upset,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of players, past and present, doing the same thing. I wish they had sent me a memo saying I couldn’t do it before I did it.”

Really Josh? You are actually saying you wish they sent you a memo? Lets think about this dude. You spontaneously grab your nuts after hitting a three, and justify it because people have done it before as to why you think you shouldn’t be fined?

People kill people. People commit many types of crime. Some get caught, some don’t. Those are hard realities that exist in life. Most of the people who get away with these heinous acts usually make sure they are not being recorded by television cameras.

Josh Smith you are a NBA player on a national spotlight. You’re a member of an elite league currently in a scrupulous-police-like-state aiming to curb the poor image of the NBA in the Post-Arenas Gun Era.

Did you get that memo, Josh Smith?

Brandon Jennings was fined $7,500 for tweeting  a message after the Milwaukee Bucks 108-101 win over Portland. The NBA is levying the fine because he posted the message during the prohibited post game time.

$7,500 for twitting to congratulate teamates: priceless! (Credit: ESPN)

The NBA has a rule against using social media during the duration of all games as well as 45 minutes prior and post game.

What did Jennings tweet? Nothing by any means controversial:

“Back to 500. Yess!!! “500″ means where doing good. Way to Play Hard Guys.”

Jennings plans to delete his account as a result of the $7,500 penalty for his twitter fine.

His tweet was a positive message of comradeship in celebrating a team achievement.  It is unfortunate that the NBA does not use better discretion in assessing these fines.

Just imagine if he tweeted a negative message about the officiating of the overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Naturally the fine would be larger and possible suspension could ensue.

Perhaps the league places Jennings under the microscope because he has a history of not playing by NBA rules. Is David Stern stocking up ammunition against Jennings?

Probably not, but Stern must be happy the league can issue a fine or two in Jennings direction. Especially after Jennings put Stern on the spot on draft day.

Brandon Jennings stepped in late on behalf the 14th pick Earl Clark (Credit: ESPN)

It is clear the NBA administration has their eyes set on making an example out of Jennings, one way or another, after he trail blazed a way for young layers to skip college.

Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler both received fines for allegedly tweeting during a game. The funny thing is they did not tweet. They figured out how to have tweets made on their behalf.

It’s odd the league will enforce the rules and levy fines without performing due diligence. Aren’t players allowed to have personal websites or run other businesses? Because these sites and businesses are linked to twitter they get fined $7,500?

Sure it was Amare’s and Tyson’s personal accounts, but they were on the court playing, ruling out any possibility they tweeted.

I have a ball in my hand, not a smart phone! (Credit: picapp.com)

Is the NBA so naïve that they cannot grasp the idea that many players have people tweeting on their behalf the majority of the time? Twitter linked via a mobile device allows flexibility to tweet during vigorous travel schedules. It take only a few seconds of query-keyboard-fingered-fury to fire out personal blasts that people can read.

I know for certain that even if the majority of players tweet, there are players out there who have other people tweeting on their behalf. With family life, basketball, charity work, and many other business ventures, players do not have the time for tweeting.

Whether or not a player uses twitter doesn’t mean they don’t have an account. From a business perspective, using social media to keep your name and image prominent via social media makes sense. It is a wonderful tool to promote causes and share information that can spread virally. This is a highly potent tool for marketing your side business ventures or promoting a personal cause.

Players link people to special opportunities exclusively by using tweets. There is nothing wrong with that. It is up to the business owner to decide how they market themselves.

The NBA should consider investigating the time stamp of the tweet, and then also acquire the time and location of the player during this timestamp. Should the time stamp of the tweet overlap with a game, the player should be investigated, and be allowed to clarify the matter. If the time of tweet occurs during half time, pre or post game time, then a fine should be assessed.

It is too gray an area to definitively prove. If the player is on the bench, or in the game during the tweet, a fine should not be assessed.

What the league should not do is just mindlessly assess fines because a tweet from Amare Stoudemire or Tyson Chandler went out during a game. If you are going to enforce the fine, you should do so in a just fashion.

Anyone ever heard of tweetfeed? (Credit: picapp.com)

After all, If a player is smart enough to calculate a method to have someone else tweet on his behalf or set up an auto tweet via automated feed, the NBA should be smart enough to figure it out a player is not tweeting on the court.

Stephen Jackson was fined $25,000 for speaking his mind. His thoughts were later deemed detrimental to his team, hence the fine.

Don Nelson backed up his player, stating he will remain team captain.

In reality Don Nelson is probably out getting drunk while laughing off the entire situation, knowing damn well why a player with as much heart as Jackson would want to leave a team hovering slightly above a rebuilding season.

Trade me to a contender- I don't want a pretender! (Credit: picapp.com)

I find that odd. How about you?

How many times will Stephen Jackson be the victim of the NBA’s administrative branch?

David Stern would deny the fact he has a short list of players under his “bad-boy” microscope, but it seems quite obvious that he does.

Atop this list: anyone involved in the infamous Nov 19, 2004 brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons fans. Among those players involved: Stephen Jackson.

Go figure, huh?

This is just another failed example of what the NBA considers to be flexing their punitive “authority”. By fining Jackson a relatively minute  (by NBA salary standards) quantity of cash ($25,000), they believe they are making a statement.

What I want to know is: Why even bother?

When the NBA issues their discipline and fine, Jackson ultimately wins.

Media will regurgitate the tale of Jackson’s trade demands. They will re-explain the story causing these fines being levied. His statements demanding to be traded to a contender will now live on to see another day.

Again yet another seed of a potential trade is planted into the minds of everyone reading what the press publishes. The last time I checked, most General Managers are educated, and read newspapers.

Why do they always pick on me? (Credit: picapp.com)

Why not let it slide? Instead of focusing the attention on delegating to grown men on what they can and cannot say via twitter, amongst other various social networking outlets.

Better yet, why not just yield a iron fist, and censor everything and anything a player can say publicly?

Isn’t this America? Is this not the country in which we all possess the freedom of speech?

Is Jackson being honest, and sharing his opinion more detrimental to the team than perhaps, riding a moped?

Players make trade demands in all professional team sports, and in some instances these demands are met. The truth of the matter is he did not criticize or belittle anyone by name. He did not throw anyone under the bus. All he did is expressed a genuine wish to end his career on a wining franchise.

That is the truth being spoken by someone with championship experience. Oh yeah, he was a vital contributor to winning a title with the Spurs in 2003.

It usually ends to the detriment of the team by not granting a player’s trade demands. Discontent players usually make malcontent a part of their agenda rather than concern with the team aspect of the game.

It makes me wonder, in a world where Pat Riley and his staff are taking a self inflicted pay cut, what would happen if a player such as LeBron James were to make such comments?

The league’s future basically hinges upon LeBron’s will, so I ask you: do you believe he would be fined if he spoke the words of Stephen Jackson?