Los Angel Lakers' Kobe Bryant fed $100,000 for directg gay slur at ref - ESPN

Contents:

• KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR
• LOS ANGEL LAKERS' KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR ANTI-GAY SLUR
• KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 OVER GAY SLUR LAKERS GAME
• KOBE BRYANT APOLOGIZ, FED $100K FOR GAY SLUR
• LAKERS’ KOBE BRYANT IS FED $100,000 BY NBA FOR ANTI-GAY SLUR TO REFEREE
• KOBE BRYANT MAY HAVE ED A GAY SLUR
• KOBE FED $100K FOR ANTI-GAY SLUR DURG LAKERS' GAME
• KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR
• KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR

KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR

(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. Gay rights groups nmned Bryant's actns and mand a full apology after Bryant issued a statement explag his words me out of anger.

LOS ANGEL LAKERS' KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR ANTI-GAY SLUR

"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.

KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 OVER GAY SLUR LAKERS GAME

"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.

KOBE BRYANT APOLOGIZ, FED $100K FOR GAY SLUR

April 14, 2011— -- The more "gay iendly" NBA has fed star player Kobe Bryant of the playoffs-bound Los Angel Lakers $100, 000 for what lls "excable" homophobic language ed agast a referee. "The ment that I ma, even though was not meant as what 's perceived to be, is nohels wrong, " Bryant said on ESPN uttered the anti-gay slur, apparently directed to referee Bennie Adams, after he lled a technil foul on Bryant durg the third quarter of a Tuday night game agast the San Anton cint was ptured on ntroversy at a time when the NBA was already planng a public service announcement mpaign wh the Gay, Lbian and Straight Edutn Network (GLSEN) orr to prent the league as beg more "gay iendly. "The announcement is set to air durg the NBA Fals and part of the GLSEN's "Thk Before You Speak" mpaign about anti-gay language.

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

"When to homophobia, nothg surpris me, " said ESPN's L. Granrson, an openly gay sports wrer. 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.

KOBE BRYANT MAY HAVE ED A GAY SLUR

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. 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 brgs to Thom Brennaman, the Fox Sports announcer who got ught droppg a "fag" bomb on air. 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.

KOBE FED $100K FOR ANTI-GAY SLUR DURG LAKERS' GAME

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. 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.

KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR

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.

KOBE BRYANT FED $100,000 FOR GAY SLUR

Changg that is far more important than ddlg homophob, regardls of how long they’ve been allowed to fter. Image ptn, Bryant is one of the hight paid US sportsmenUS basketball player Kobe Bryant has been fed $100, 000 (£61, 000) for g a homophobic slur durg an NBA game on Los Angel Lakers star's outburst was ught on mera as he reacted to beg judged to have mted a is shown apparently mouthg the word "..

"The Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights group, said Bryant's "horribly offensive and distasteful" language "perpetuat a culture of discrimatn" and lled for a fuller is one of the hight paid US sportsmen and one of US basketball's most celebrated stars.