LA Lakers’ Kobe Bryant made an official apology to GLAAD today following his caught-on-camera homophobic slur against a referee. The cameras caught Bryant saying the words “f**king f*g” to referee Bennie Adams after he was benched.
“What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period,” Bryant said in the statement. “The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.”
On the $100,000 fine, League Commissioner David Stern made the following statement:
“Kobe Bryant’s comment during last night’s 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 and have no place in our game or society.”