Last month,
LA Lakers basketball Player
Kobe Bryant was caught yelling a Homophobic Slur at an
NBA referee which resulted in his being fined $100,000 by the
NBA Basketball Commissioner. As a result of that infraction,
Bryant and some of his
Lakers teammates filmed an anti-bullying/tolerance PSA in an attempt to right
Bryant‘s wrong. Last night, during the
Chicago Bulls vs.
Miami Heat playoffs game,
Bulls Player
Joakim Noah was caught yelling the same Homophobic Slur on National TV … except in
Noah‘s case, he yelled “fucking faggot” to a fan in the crowd.
Noah immediately apologized for the Slur after the game but it remains to be seen if he will be punished with the same $100,000. fine for the offense.
Chicago’s Joakim Noah shouted an anti-gay Slur at a fan sitting behind the Bulls’ bench Sunday night in an incident that was captured by TNT. He apologized after the game. “I got caught up,” Noah said. “I don’t mean no disrespect to anybody. I just got caught up.” Noah picked up his second foul with 6:26 left in the opening quarter. Cameras remained on the frustrated Player as he went to the bench. The incident occurred after Noah sat down. “The fan said something to me that I thought was disrespectful, and I got caught up in the moment, and I responded,” Noah said. “I said some things that I shouldn’t have said. … I apologize.” A league spokesman had no comment Sunday night, but Noah faces a likely fine from a league that has taken a strong stance against Homophobic comments. Kobe Bryant was recently hit with a $100,000 fine for using the same anti-gay Slur Noah was heard to say Sunday night against referee Bennie Adams last month. Bryant offered multiple apologies after the incident was heavily criticized by gay rights groups. Also last month, Atlanta Braves coach Roger McDowell allegedly made Homophobic comments, crude gestures and threatened a fan with a bat before a game in San Francisco. McDowell served a two-week suspension and also apologized for his remarks. During Sunday night’s game, the league broadcast commercials featuring players urging fans not to use slang terms for gays as insults.
This kind of behavior is so disappointing. While I appreciate the immediate apology (and public admittance of wrongdoing), this kind of behavior shouldn’t even take place in the first place. All I can think of is the huge number of young and impressionable people out there who look up to these sports stars and see this kind of behavior. I cannot see how
Joakim Noah will not be fined the same $100,000. penalty for this offense. I find it so sad that just plain outrageous that those tolerance PSAs were shown during a game where one of the star players got caught hurling Homophobic slurs on camera. It really goes to show how far we have to go as a people towards acceptance of one another. It’s clear that this kind of outrageously offensive behavior still happens in sports but now that we are more watchful over sports players and their behavior, it’s likely that more and more athletes will be punished for these actions. At $100k a pop, I’m hoping that these athletes will be forced to learn their lesson.
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