The NBA is expected to review an exchange on Twitter between Amar’e Stoudemire and a fan in which Stoudemire used foul language and a gay slur.
An NBA spokesman said in an email Sunday night that he’s sure the matter “will be reviewed” by the league.
The exchange, which was confirmed by a source close to Stoudemire as being sent by the Knicks star, occurred Saturday when a Knicks fan, whose twitter handle is @BFerrelli, tweeted a message to Stoudemire: “You better come back stronger and quicker to make up for last season.” The tweet included an obscenity at the end.
Stoudemire responded with a direct message, which can only be seen by the recipient. The response included foul language and a gay slur. The response was posted by @BFerrelli on his public Twitter page for all users to see.
On the morning of June 24, Stoudemire sent @BFerrelli an apology via direct message, which @BFerrelli also then posted publicly. In the apology, Stoudemire said: “I apologize for what I said earlier. I just got off the plane and had time to think about it. Sorry bro. No Excuses. Won’t happen again.”
A source close to Stoudemire confirmed that it was Stoudemire who sent both direct messages to @BFerrelli. The Knicks had no comment.
Stoudemire is in Spain working at a basketball camp. He has tweeted since the exchanges but didn’t reference the exchange.He did, however, retweet a positive tweet from @BFerrelli and wrote, “Thx bro 1love, big year next year !!”
The fan later tweeted to Stoudemire: “@Amareisreal sooo after all this that happened can I get a follow back or tickets to a game lol or is that pushing it?”
The NBA has a public service announcement featuring Stoudemire’s former Suns teammate Grant Hill in which he encourages people not to use gay slurs.
