The muzzling of Mark Cuban by the NBA did not go over unanimously at the recent Board of Governors meeting.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bobcats owner Bob Johnson asked David Stern if such draconian measures - giving the Commish the power to suspend any owner who disparages the league publicly - were in everyone's best interests. And shouldn't this be handled by a committee of owners instead of by Stern alone?

Then, according to two sources, when Johnson further suggested that this was a personal matter between Cuban and Stern that the two of them should settle, Stern went ballistic, telling Johnson that this was a league matter, not an individual one, and that the value of investments such as Johnson's $300 million to get the Charlotte expansion franchise were hurt when Cuban constantly belittled the on-court product.

In the end, Stern got his way. And Cuban may have gotten off lightly. The Inquirer is reporting that some hard-line owners were proposing fines up to $5 million per pop-off - which would dwarf the $1.45 million Cuban's been hit with so far for various verbal indiscretions.