Kobe Fined $100K for Homophobic Slur

Kobe Bryant has been fined $100,000 by the NBA for his anti-gay slur Tuesday night.

“Kobe Bryant’s comment during last night’s game was offensive and
inexcusable,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

“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.”

Bryant receiving his 15th technical foul of the season during Tuesday’s game with San Antonio and yelled at referee Bennie Adams before apparently uttering the anti-gay slur.

Bryant said later in a statement that “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.”

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.