The Toronto Raptors have been fined $25,000 by the NBA as a result of comments made by their global ambassador, Drake. The rapper was accused of violating the NBA's anti-tampering rules at his OVO Fest last week in his home city of Toronto. NBA MVP Kevin Durant was in attendance and Drake decided to give KD a shout-out at the end of the show. "Drizzy" reportedly asked the crowd to "let [Durant] know what would happen…if he came to play in Toronto," to which the seven-year veteran received a standing ovation.
The Grammy award-winning rapper has clearly been admiring Durant's recent trophy, because he went from zero to 25 thousand real quick. "And they don't have no award for that." Only punishment, as the act is not tolerated by the NBA in accordance to its anti-tampering rules.
According to Article 35A of the NBA Constitution, no person affiliated with an NBA team may "directly or indirectly (i) entice, induce, or persuade, or attempt to entice, induce or persuade, any player, coach, GM or other person under contract to any other NBA team to enter into negotiations for or relating to that person's services or to negotiate or contract for such services, or (ii) otherwise interfere with the employment relationship between that employee and the other NBA team." Since Drake is the global ambassador for the Toronto Raptors, he clearly violated the NBA Constitution by encouraging KD, who is under contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder until 2016, to consider playing in Canada.
The anti-tampering laws have resulted in what seems to be multiple fines every year around the league. New York Knicks President of Basketball Operations Phil Jackson was also fined $25K earlier this year for speaking with then Thunder guard Derek Fisher about the head coaching position for the Knicks. Fisher would retire and eventually accept the position at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Drake, the former star of the Degrassi TV series, hosted the 2014 ESPY awards. The rapper made various jokes towards athletes throughout the show and even performed several songs, including one in which he changed the lyrics of his song, "Worst Behavior," to call out Donald Sterling. Not even one minute into his opening monologue, Drake ordered a round of applause for LeBron James's return to Cleveland.
This came in a matter of seconds after Kevin Durant was the first athlete to be televised at the awards. While none of his actions at the ESPYs violated the anti-tampering rules of the NBA, it was only natural for Drake to endorse a friend at his own concert.
The issue here lies within the cross-mix between athletes and musicians. Rappers frequently reference star athletes in their music, but most do not hold a position with an organization such as Drake. Jay-Z was confronted by a similar issue when he owned part of the New Jersey Nets. The New York rapper was forced to drop his share as a result of launching the Roc Nation Sports agency.
As for the Raptors, reports surfaced that the NBA offered to drop the fine if the team released Drake of his duties. The league denied those reports, but the sole Canadian basketball team would probably rather pay the fine than get rid of one of the promotional faces of the franchise. So, for now, Drizzy may continue to lint roll his pants in his courtside seats.