Kobe Bryant fed $100,000 for gay slur - CBS News

Contents:

• LAKERS’ KOBE BRYANT IS FED $100,000 BY NBA FOR ANTI-GAY SLUR TO REFEREE
• KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR
• REFEREE BILL KENNEDY, FOLLOWG SLUR BY RAJON RONDO, ANNOUNC HE'S GAY
• KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR
• A GAY FORMER N.B.A. PLAYER RPONDS TO KOBE BRYANT

LAKERS’ KOBE BRYANT IS FED $100,000 BY NBA FOR ANTI-GAY SLUR TO REFEREE

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was fed $100, 000 by the NBA on Wednday and cricized by numero gay-rights groups for directg an anti-gay slur at referee Bennie Adams durg a game Tuday agast San Anton. Bryant said he planned on talkg to the gay-rights groups and also wanted to “own up” to his ments. ” GLAAD applds NBA’s cisn to fe Kobe Bryant $100, 000 for anti-gay slur The Human Rights Campaign, a natnal lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr civil rights anizatn, lled a “disgrace” for Bryant to “e such horribly offensive and distasteful language, pecially when lns of people are watchg.

” The Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn, a lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr media advocy and anti-famatn anizatn, add an equally cril statement. “The words exprsed do NOT reflect my feelgs towards the gay and lbian muni and were NOT meant to offend anyone.

“I’m a big pro-gay-marriage person; I have a bunch of gay iends who I hope n get married some day, so I’m a ltle b sensive, ” Barkley said. It was watchg his transformatn om the man who was fed $100, 000 for directg an anti-gay slur at referee Bennie Adams 2011 to an LGBTQ equaly unrstand how much Bryant’s self-examatn and ultimate change meant to me, know that there were only two players I sisted my son watch live: Allen Iverson and Kobe. The fact that both men were attached to ugly, homophobic moments offers a glimpse to how difficult n be for some LGBTQ people to work a field which ritured masculy is nsired currency.

KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR

Like many gay men, I love sports and refe to be chased out by simple-md men, pecially by those dus who n’t get women to like them but are nvced every gay man wants,, the pot is Kobe changed bee he did more than pay a fe and issue a clumsy, weak apology. He spoke wh me, he spoke wh LGBTQ anizatns and then, when he was fortable, he spoke out agast homophobia — not bee the NBA or sponsors ma him but bee, to quote the late John Lewis, “When you see somethg that is not right, not fair, not jt, you have to speak up. ”I love sports and refe to be chased out by simplemd men, pecially by those dus who n’t get women to like them but are nvced every gay man wants them.

So, the real qutn for Major League Baseball, general, and the Ccnati Reds, specifilly, is why did someone who has been llg gam for more than 30 years feel fortable enough to drop an anti-gay slur a workplace environment 2020? There are openly gay executiv MLB — cludg my iends Erik Braverman, a senr vice print for the Dodgers, as well as oime Dodger Billy Bean, who is a special assistant to MLB Commissner Rob Maned. There may not be any openly gay male athlet playg the big four sports, but we’ve heard several g-out stori after players retired.

REFEREE BILL KENNEDY, FOLLOWG SLUR BY RAJON RONDO, ANNOUNC HE'S GAY

There was even an openly gay man nng for, Brennaman felt relaxed enough, wh earshot of technicians and other lleagu, to sually drop a reference to an unknown lole as “one of the fag pals of the world.

Removg Brennaman won’t expunge homophobia om baseball any more than Jackie Robson’s first at-bat turned Ameri to a geo are all but sgle steps on the journey.

Changg that is far more important than ddlg homophob, regardls of how long they’ve been allowed to fter. (CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant has apologized to a print of a gay rights anizatn after havg been fed $100, 000 by the NBA for g a rogatory anti-gay term tratn over a referee's ll. The five-time NBA champn guard cursed and ed a homophobic slur when referee Bennie Adams lled a technil foul on him Tuday night the third quarter of Los Angel' w over the Spurs.

KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR

Gay rights groups nmned Bryant's actns and mand a full apology after Bryant issued a statement explag his words me out of anger. "The words exprsed do NOT reflect my feelgs towards the gay and lbian muni and were NOT meant to offend anyone.

The natn's largt lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr civil rights anizatn, Human Rights Campaign, issued the followg statement: "For better or worse, Kobe Bryant has created a teachable moment for the lns of fans -- many of them young -- who saw that outburst on the floor, " said HRC Print Joe Solmone a statement. "And the right thg to do now is to apologize and take rponsibily for suggtg that the worst thg you n do to someone is to scream out a gay slur. This kd of homophobic outburst has dangero nsequenc, even more so when om a celebry the natnal spotlight.

Though Bryant’s origal apology was filled wh jtifitns — he said his homophobic language “should not be taken lerally” and was “out of tratn durg the heat of a game” — he went on to participate an anti-discrimatn public service vio for GLAAD and promised he “planned to do more. When Jason Colls publicly me out 2013 — beg the first active openly gay player NBA history — Bryant honored his word and did the right thg.

A GAY FORMER N.B.A. PLAYER RPONDS TO KOBE BRYANT

Bryant’s public embrace of Colls was a watershed moment terms of the perceived acceptance of openly gay athlet the NBA. Bryant admonished a fan on Twter for dog what he did 2011: tossg around homophobic sults. Jt lettg you know@PacSmoove @pookeo9 that g "your gay" as a way to put someone down a't ok!

He ntued to cheer on openly gay athlet, too, fervently appldg the U. On Sunday, openly gay soccer star Megan Rapoe tweeted her ndolenc to the Bryant fay.

Author of two booksVeteran NBA referee Bill Kennedy has announced he is gay. "I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man, " Kennedy told Yahoo! As he was beg pulled away by teammat, Rondo lled Kennedy a gay slur, two sourc told ESPN.