Kobe Bryant’s homophobic slur costs Lakers star 100 grand

NBA fines Kobe Bryant $100,000 for slur

Kobe Bryant uttered a homophobic slur directed at a referee during the Lakers' most recent game, and the NBA responded by slapping Bryant with a $100,000 fine.

A statement was released by Kobe Bryant who clarified that his actions came "out of frustration during the game, period."

The Los Angeles Lakers are mired in an ill-timed slump ahead of the playoffs and team leader Bryant have been growing more frustrated with his team's listless play.

"The words expressed do not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian communities and were not meant to offend anyone," Bryant said.

Still, league commissioner David Stern called Bryant's actions as "offensive and inexcusable."

Kobe Bryant was just whistled for a technical foul during the third quarter and yelled an antigay remark at referee Bennie Adams as he headed to the bench. The whole incident was caught on national television.

The Lakers snapped a five-game losing streak against the Spurs on Tuesday with a 99-83 win. But the game was marred by the incident involving Bryant. The Lakers also saw center Andrew Bynum, a key player for the playoffs, go down with a knee injury.

Just a few years ago, Kobe Bryant criticized fellow NBA player Tim Hardaway for saying "I hate gay people" during a radio interview. Bryant remarked then that "You have to be open-minded" and that "there's a long way to go" for homosexuals to be fully accepted in society.

The Human Rights Campaign rebuked the "horribly offensive and distasteful language" uttered by Kobe Bryant during Tuesday's game.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Wednesday April 13 2011, 10:54 PM EST. Ref: NYT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0