Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

During a radio interview Tuesday, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry revealed publicly for the first time that Major League Baseball fined him $500,000 for comments he made to The Boston Globe in 2009 about the league’s revenue-sharing system.

In 2009, Henry told the newspaper that seven “chronically uncompetitive teams” received over $1 billion. “Who except these teams, can think this is a good idea?” he asked.

“The large markets aren’t allowed to give their opinions,” Henry said on WEEI’s The Big Show. “I made statements which turned out to be true, or at least there were various documents that were leaked after that. But anyway, the large clubs are not allowed to talk about it.”

According to the Globe, MLB would not comment on whether Henry could face additional punishment for discussing the fine.

Henry isn’t the only one who has felt the league’s wrath for discussing the issue. In late February, baseball commissioner Bud Selig and executive vice president Rob Manfred spoke by telephone with Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and president Randy Levine telling them team officials should not comment publicly on labor matters after Hank Steinbrenner — Hal’s brother — was critical of baseball’s revenue sharing rules.

Steinbrenner said baseball’s revenue sharing and luxury tax programs need changes, and that Selig is open to the idea. Steinbrenner said he doesn’t know what the final figure is, but expects the Yankees’ 2010 payments for the two to total about $130 million.

“We’ve got to do a little something about that, and I know Bud wants to correct it in some way,” Steinbrenner said in February. “Obviously, we’re very much allies with the Red Sox and the Mets, the Dodgers, the Cubs, whoever in that area.”

“At some point, if you don’t want to worry about teams in minor markets, don’t put teams in minor markets, or don’t leave teams in minor markets if they’re truly minor,” Steinbrenner said. “Socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it, is never the answer.”

-ESPN