Amare Stoudemire Fined $50,000 After Tweeting Gay Slur
The New York Knicks on Tuesday announced that star player Amare Stoudemire was being fined $50,000 after he tweeted a gay slur and later apologized.
The fine was handed down by league executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson who called the star players tweet “offensive and derogatory.”
Stoudemire apologized for his offensive tweet on Sunday afternoon. The tweet was sent after a fan admonished the All-Star and told him it was time to “make up for this past season.” In his direct message apology Stoudemire wrote:
“I apologize for what I said earlier. I just got off the plane and had time to think about it. Sorry bro. No Excuses. Won’t happen again.”
Amare sent a direct message to @BFerrelli after the tweet in which he laced his response with an expletive and the gay slur. BFerrelli, real name Brian Ferrelli soon afterwards posted a screenshot containing the direct message since direct messages can only be seen by the sender and recipient.
On Tuesday afternoon Amare Stoudemire wrote:
“I am a huge supporter of civil rights for all people. I am disappointed in myself for my statement to a fan. I should have known better and there is no excuse.”
The NBA takes gay hate speech very seriously, in April Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for using an anti-gay slur against a referee. In May 2012 Chicago Bulls Center Joakim Noah was handed down a $50,000 fine by the league after he used anti-gay speech against a heckler.
