The National Basketball Association fined Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers $100,000 earlier this month for “offensive and inexcusable” comments he made during a game, the league said in a statement.
Bryant called a referee a “faggot” after receiving a technical foul in a game against the San Antonio Spurs.
In a phone call a few days later to Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, Bryant apologized for using the slur, the commission said in a statement.
“We had a very sincere conversation in which he expressed his heartfelt regret for the hurt that his words caused,” Solomonese said. “At the end of a difficult day, I applaud Kobe for coming forward and taking responsibility for his actions.”
Earlier, Bryant issued a statement saying his remarks should not be taken literally.
“My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period,” he said. “The words expressed do not reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were not meant to offend anyone.”
But, said NBA Commissioner David Stern in a statement, “Kobe Bryant's comment during [the] game was offensive and inexcusable. While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated. Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable.”
The Human Rights Campaign said earlier it supported the fine.
“We applaud Commissioner Stern for not only fining Bryant but for recognizing that slurs and derogatory comments have no place on the basketball court or in society at large,” Solomonese said. “
GLAAD issued a statement supporting the decision.
“The NBA has sent a clear message to sports fans everywhere that anti-gay slurs have no place in the game,” said Jarrett Barrios, president of GLAAD. “This decision will serve as an important precedent that will help ensure a safer, more inclusive environment for fans and players everywhere.”
Since the controversy, Bryant participated in a Public Service Announcement to be played before all Lakers games battling bullying based on race, religion and sexual orientation.
