Openly Gay Former NBA Player John Amaechi On Kobe Bryant's Fine

Openly gay former NBA player John Amaechi feels Kobe Bryant's "fucking faggot" apology was insincere and that the NBA's fine was appropriate. Amaechi came out in 2007 after his retirement. He remains the only openly gay current or former NBA player.

Kobe Bryant: Word Can Be Hurtful

As penance for last week's "fucking faggot" incident, the below PSA featuring Kobe Bryant and members of the Los Angeles Lakers will be played at the stadium during home games.

Quote Of The Day - Ted Nugent

"If the NBA had any true gay convictions, the NBA should host a Homosexual Night. During halftime, the homosexuals could come down on the court, hold hands and prance around the court to music by the Village People. The NBA could then give each homosexual a pink basketball as a symbol of solidarity. Like other professional athletes, numerous NBA players have done all kinds of things on and off the court that do not cast a positive light on themselves or the NBA, but they have not been fined $100,000 by the league. Homosexuals are a protected class in America. If you think what happened to Mr. Bryant was a travesty, just wait until you see what homosexuals in the military do when they claim they have been mistreated because of their sexual orientation." - Washed up rocker Ted Nugent, writing for the Moonie Times.

NBA To Partner With GLAAD

GLAAD and the NBA today announced a joint effort to quell homophobia in professional basketball. This new partnership arises out of an incident in which Los Angeles Laker star Kobe Bryant was captured by network television as he called a referee a "fucking faggot." Bryant is appealing the $100K fine imposed by the NBA for his outburst. Via press release:

“In light of this slur, there is a real opportunity to build support for our community and educate fans of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the NBA about the use of such words,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a positive step and we look forward to working with them to create messages from players and coaches that combat bullying. We also suggested and will continue to advocate for zero tolerance policies for anti-gay slurs at home games, similar to what the New York Yankees adopted last year.” In addition to the LA Lakers, NBA executives have agreed to meet with GLAAD to discuss ways to send a message about the power of such words to the league’s audience, many of whom are young people, parents or educators.

Lakers spokesman John Black: "We appreciate the input we've received from GLAAD the past two days and will look forward to working with them on ways to help educate ourselves and our fans, and to help keep language like this out of our game."

Kobe Bryant To Appeal "Faggot" Fine

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant announced today that he intends to appeal the $100K fine imposed by the NBA yesterday for his calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during Tuesday night's game.

Bryant, talking from Sacramento on the Mason & Ireland show on ESPN 710 Radio in Los Angeles, said the appeal is "standard protocol," but also took responsibility for his choice of words said "out of frustration during the heat of the game." "The comment that I made, even though it wasn't meant in the way it was perceived to be, is nonetheless wrong, so it's important to own that," Bryant said. He added, "The concern that I have is for those that follow what I say and are inspired by how I play or look to me as a role model or whatever it is, for them not to take what is said as a message of hate or a license to degrade or embarrass or tease. That's something I don't want to see happen. It's important for me to talk about that issue because it"s OK to be who you are, and I do'n't want this issue to be a part of something or to magnify something that shouldn't be."

NBA Fines Kobe Bryant $100,000

In a move the Human Rights Campaign calls "unprecedented," the NBA has fined superstar Kobe Bryant $100,000 for calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during last night's game. Via press release:

While Bryant acknowledged the outburst earlier today and said in a statement it did “not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian communities,” he failed to apologize or to take full responsibility for the homophobic slur. This afternoon, the NBA and Commissioner Stern issued a strong condemnation of Bryant’s action and in an unprecedented move, fined the Lakers’ superstar $100,000. “We applaud Commissioner Stern and the NBA 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, “ said Joe Solmonese, HRC President. “We hope such swift and decisive action will send a strong and universal message that this kind of hateful outburst is simply inexcusable no matter what the context.”

Kobe Bryant Calls Ref "Fucking Faggot"

Last night NBA superstar Kobe Bryant called a referee a "fucking faggot" after receiving a technical foul. The Human Rights Campaign reacts:

"What a disgrace for Kobe Bryant to use such horribly offensive and distasteful language, especially when millions of people are watching. Hopefully Mr. Bryant will recognize that as a person with such fame and influence, the use of such language not only offends millions of LGBT people around the world, but also perpetuates a culture of discrimination and hate that all of us, most notably Mr. Bryant, should be working to eradicate."

JMG reader Sean Chapin provides the below clip.


UPDATE: Bryant has apologized. "What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone."