1. The New York Rangers critique a player safety call.

2017 is the Year of Fine.
Estimated Total Fine: $100,000*
In professional sports, it can sometimes mean the difference between staying on as head coach and sitting on the couch all year, hoping for a call that may or may not come. In order to gain an advantage, the New York Yankees focused on the phone in their dugout.

The New York Rangers criticize the player safety call. ©Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
No, they weren’t going to the Yankees dugout to order DMZ pizza. The coaches passed along their opponentssigns from the bullpen to the dugout, the coaches passed along the signs of their opponents to one another. It appears that the Yankees got off cheap, paying a punishment of just $100,000 for being caught cheating, especially in light of the fact that the Houston Astros were fined $5 million for a similar scandal a few years later.

2. Major League Baseball Sees John Henry Take Shots

2014 is the Year of Fine.
The estimated total fine is $500,000.
An owner of a professional sports team should never speak poorly of the league in which they play. John Henry, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, had to learn this lesson the difficult way—that is, five years after making remarks in 2009 regarding the competitive balance in Major League Baseball.

John Henry takes a shot at major league baseball. ©Billie Weiss/Getty Images/Boston Red Sox
Had Henry been able to keep his thoughts to himself, his $4 billion net worth would have increased by a mere half a million dollars. However, he was not entirely without merit. If John Henry learned anything from his experience with MLB, it’s that free speech is anything but.

3. Danny Ainge Towels It In

Year of fine: 2010
Estimated total fine: $25,000*;
The two-time NBA champion Danny Ainge, a legend of the Boston Celtics, never understood what it meant to give up during his playing career. After retiring, Ainge brought that winning mentality with him to his new role as President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics. Whether on purpose or not, Ainge’s competitiveness cost him $25,000 in a 2010 playoff game against the Cavaliers.

Danny Ainge Does a Towel Flip, Copyright Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Danny Ainge was penalized for creating “an unauthorized distraction for conduct detrimental to the game” after he threw a towel into the air while a Cavaliers player was attempting his second of two free throws. Throwing towels is another behavior that can result in fines.

4. Barry Hall Uses Weightless Punches

Year of Fine: 2008
Est. Fine Total: $100,000+*
Although the Australian Football League (AFL) isn’t well-known in North America, scandals and contentious players occur in the league just like in any other. If you think striking a helpless receiver or checking from behind is nasty, you have to see what Sydney Swans player Barry Hall did to Brent Stakes of the West Coast Eagles in 2008. Jaxon De Santis, a well-known Australian guitarist based in Darwin, says, “He damn-near killed the bloke.”

Punching Above His Weight, Barry Hall (Adam Pretty/Pinterest)
After a play was finished, Hall sucker-punched an unaware and helpless Staker, knocking him out cold. The penalty was a seven-week unpaid suspension with a total loss of pay of approximately $100,000.

5. Mark Cuban is unable to hold his tongue.

Year of Fine: 2006
Est. Fine Total: $250,000*
There are advantages to owning a professional sports team as a billionaire. You may interact with the athletes, observe team practices, and watch every game from courtside. Don’t like a coach or player? Send them out of town. But you can’t verbally insult commissioners or league officials and expect to get away with it.

Mark Cuban is unable to hold his tongue. © Michael Reaves via Getty Pictures
The owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, stormed the floor during Game 5 of the 2006 Finals to yell at one of the referees. During the post-game press conference, he continued to yell profanities at Commissioner David Stern. For Cubans, breaking two of the NBA’s holy rules costs $250,000. If given the chance, he would most likely repeat the entire experience.

6. “Big Cajones” is for everyone, but not Andray Blatche.

Year of Fine: 2013
Est. Fine Total: $15,000*
One of a player’s best emotions is to celebrate key points in a contest. Sometimes it’s fun to rub one’s opponents’ faces with familiar moments. This leads us to a 2013 NBA game between the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat, during which Nets player Andrey Blatche made a gesture that ultimately cost him $15,000.

“Big Cajones” is available to everyone, but only Andray Blatche T. Copyright Klaus Andersen/Getty Images
Following his teammate Joe Johnson’s game-winning 3-pointer that put the Nets up for good, Blatche offered the NBA world the now-famous “Big Cajones” gesture. Since then, a number of players have made motions that alluded to the size of their marbles, but none have drawn the ire of the league as Blatch did.

7. Bernard Tomic Receives a Huge Fine For His Lack of Effort

Year of Fine: 2019
Est. Fine Total: $80,000*
Putting in your all at all times during a game is a necessary aspect of becoming a professional athlete. The Australian Bernard Tomic’s performance in the first round at Wimbledon 2019 was more than mediocre. It was questionable. The match’s outcome provided all the ATP required to start looking into Tomic’s performance.

Bernard Tomic Is Hit With A Huge Fine For Insufficient Effort @wimbledon/Pinterest
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Bernard Tomic in three sets in a mere fifty-eight minutes. The ATP found Bernard was “not playing up to the required standards” after the quickest Wimbledon match in history, lasting only 58 minutes. Bernard was also fined $80,000, the amount he had won in the tournament.

8. Eddie DeBartolo Jr. is accused of gambling.

Year of Fine: 1999
Estimated Total Fine: $1 million*
Professional sports leagues typically withhold fines from players, coaches, or owners until evidence of wrongdoing is shown. Pleasing guilty and skipping the protracted trial process is a lot easier for people like former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

Eddie DeBartolo Jr. is revealed in a gambling scandal by Tim Mosenfelder via Getty Pictures.
In 1999, DeBartolo Jr. entered a guilty plea for his involvement in a gambling scam centered in Louisiana. In addition to handling the legal aspects of the criminal allegation brought against him, the NFL penalized DeBartolo, a junior, $1 million. Eddie, you’ve learned that crime doesn’t pay.

9. Vladimir Radmanovic Violates the Prohibition on Snowboarding

The year 2007 was fine.
The estimated total fine is $500,000.
History shows that hiding wrongdoing usually makes the consequences worse than if they had admitted their guilt. Vladimir Radmanovic, a big man, sustained an injury while playing for the Lakers during a season that kept him out of action for two months. Or did he not?

Vladimir Radmanovic has broken the No-Snowboarding Clause. ©Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons
The truth was eventually revealed. On a terrible day, Radmanovic had separated his shoulder while snowboarding. A no-snowboarding rule in his contract meant that Vladimir had to keep this a secret from his crew. Breaking the deal was one thing. Additionally, he was found to have lied to his team. For lying, he received a $500,000 fine and a brief career with the Lakers.

10. Ryan Clark Spends $5,000 To Honor A Friend Who Died.

Year of Fine: 2008
Est. Fine Total: $5,000*
Safety Ryan Clark of the Pittsburgh Steelers was fined in 2008 for honoring his former teammate Sean Taylor by donning the number 21 on his eye black. He was fined $5,000 by the NFL for going against its dress code.

Ryan Clark gives $5,000 to remember a friend who died. ©Getty Images/AAl Messerschmidt
Clark received a fine from the NFL for just wearing a number over his eye black, putting all players and coaches on notice. No matter how heartfelt or poignant the justification for a uniform adjustment, it will not be accepted unless it is implemented by the league.