Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire has been fined by the NBA league office for a direct message Tweet he sent a fan that contained a gay slur.

Stoudemire responded to a fan, identified as Brian Ferrelli by the New York Daily News, who Tweeted at Stoudemire to “make up for this past season.”

Direct messages on Twitter can only be seen by the person sending the message and the person receiving it. Ferrelli posted a screen shot of the message sent by Stoudemire.

There isn’t really a precedent for this with pro athletes and with Twitter. Being fined for Tweeting something that you know the entire world can see is one thing but when it is a direct message, the idea is that it isn’t public, even if you are a public figure.

A direct message is not very different from a text message which is something a professional athlete would never be fined for.

What Stoudemire did was out of line for sure but for the league to step in this way may also be crossing the line in a way.

Stoudemire just can’t seem to catch a break these days when he chooses to let his anger out. Whether it’s Tweeting or punching a fire extinguisher, luck is not on his side.

Stoudemire went from an MVP candidate and All-Star at the beginning of last season to something totally unrecognizable since the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony.

Good fortune is something Knicks fans are hoping for with this team and Stoudemire. It just doesn’t seem to be heading in that direction.