Hinkley was slapped with the sanction for conduct unbecoming in 2024 for his post-match sledging of Hawthorn players after a semi-final.
Hinkley had overseen the Power's three-point win and, as players left Adelaide Oval, verbally clashed with some Hawks while directing an aeroplane gesture at Jack Ginnivan.
The AFL then used Hinkley's theatrics in 2025 to promote a re-match of Port and Hawthorn in that season's Gather Round.
"The AFL decided to impose a fine on me and shame me and I was pretty unforgiving of that to be honest," Hinkley told SEN radio on Wednesday.
"I just didn't think there was an enormous amount of care in their way of treating me through that journey."
Asked if he felt exploited, Hinkley replied: "Yeah, I did.
"I made the mistake, I done (sic) the crime ... and I owned that and talked about that quite openly straight afterwards and was embarrassed by my own behaviour," he said.
"... But then to promote it on their website leading into Gather Round with me and Hawthorn and Ginni (Ginnivan) - who luckily enough, he took it in the right way - it felt a little bit misused if you're making a moral stand on what I should and shouldn't be allowed to do. That's just the way I felt."
Hinkley suggested his fine could have been payback for other incidents during his 13-year stint as Port coach which ceased at the end of last season.
"They (the AFL) had every right to do what they did," he said.
"I just felt like there was a little bit extra in it for some reason.
"I probably caused them some problems over the journey in different ways, but maybe this was their chance to clip me properly, I don't know."
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