When Players Don't Pay In a season of bad behavior, sports leagues have announced stiff penalties for rule-breaking stars. Yet often, fines are quietly reduced, dropped -- or even, Jon Weinbach reports, refunded with interest. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB111897034755762207-OUV_wHYEfDq1kBdUMezPzKFXQVs_20060617,00.html?mod=blogs really long, but a good read. players have actually made money when they're fined by their teams/leagues: Among the athletes who've enjoyed relief from a stiff fine: NBA guard Latrell Sprewell -- who actually made money on a $25,000 penalty, because a corporate sponsor stepped in to pay it and the fine was later dropped by his team -- and pitcher John Rocker, who ended up paying just $500 of the $20,000 penalty originally imposed by Major League Baseball for his remarks about minorities and homosexuals.