Although I think a suspension was probably the more appropriate punishment, Kobe Bryant was ordered by the NBA to pay a fine of $100K for his use of the word f****t during an NBA game two nights ago. Bryant had received a technical foul and the cameras caught him saying the word to the referee who called the technical on him.
I waited until today to write about it to see what the punishment was. To all of us, it is a tremendous amount of money. Even for someone with his wallet, the fine is a hefty sting, but a one game suspension would have cost him way more money. Yes, he apologized which was great, but the fact he has the word in his vocabulary and so easily can use it is pretty disturbing. Of course he has not exactly always shown great character so it is not out of the norm.
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ReplyDeleteA guy who is an accused r*pist should keep his mouth shut. There are much much worse things than being gay.
ReplyDeleteIt took me three posts to get that right. Sad but true.
ReplyDelete@ looserdude - I agree completely. Kobe has made some pretty disturbing life choices along the way. He is in the public eye as a NBA Star and gets paid accordingly. He needs to learn to watch his mouth and treat everyone with respect.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm a big Laker fan, but not a Kobe fan. I think his punishment was fair. He got called out on it and he handled it well. It's over.
ReplyDeleteNow, let the playoffs begin! ;p
I wonder how many times he has said it without the cameras catching him? Or was he just in a really terrible mood?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that there are so few gay athletes is really a testament to how rampant homophobia still is in those circles.
I also heard he is going to appeal the punishment and fine, if so shame on him, he needs to accept it and move on. On a personal note, I cannot stand him, his character speaks for itself,imo.
ReplyDeleteHe was actually fined for calling him an effing f***t. I wonder if the fine would have been less. The worse harm, in my opinion, is the fact that he had such disrespect for the official, who is right in front of him, than some unknown person who might be offended by the term. Would he have been fined for calling the guy a Pollock? An idiot? A retard? I am a bit concerned about the fact that people are being fined for their use of a specific term rather than the insubordination and disrespect to the official. Either way, the sad thing is that the fine will go to the NBA and not some better cause.
ReplyDeleteKobe Bryant is an asshole. Always has been.
ReplyDeleteAnd well said, linnea.
Hate him. Have no doubt he IS a rapist. He brutalized that young woman and bought his way out of it. Not surprised he's throwing around homophobic slurs. HATE HIM.
ReplyDeletehow would he feel if the official called him the N word?
ReplyDeleteWhat a prick.
Guess it takes one to know one. Kobe, perhaps you dost protest too much.
ReplyDeleteGuess it takes one to know one. Kobe, perhaps you dost protest too much.
ReplyDeleteI think Kobe got off light. If the ref had called him the N-word, the ref would have been fired.
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ReplyDeleteWhat an a-hole.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that what he did/said was terrible, I think $100k seems pretty steep.
ReplyDeleteIt cracks me up that Kobe said the words were uttered during the "heat of battle" (or whatever his exact words were). When I get mad at someone, I don't go screaming slurs at them because those words are not in my normal vocabulary. The camera got a close-up of his face and he got caught. He should shut up about the fine and give an equal amount to the gay community. And I loathe him. Not only for the rape, but because of the times he's said he was leaving the Lakers just to get more money. I think he's the lowest of the low.
ReplyDeleteI've always hated his smug ass.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand this idiot. Can't stand his stupid face and attitude. Don't think 1000.00 was a steep fine especially since that is nothing to him. If they would have suspended him probably he would have thrown a cow hahaha.
ReplyDeleteWow! A "professional" athlete with authority/entitlement/bigotry issues?! Are you serious?
ReplyDelete*catches breath, fans self*
@iheartjacksparrow, I agree. A few weeks ago I was walking down the street and a car almost hit a pedestrian. The pedestrian had the right of way and had every right to be mad. He chose to express his anger by screaming the N word. That caught the attention of everyone around and we all kind of looked at each other, stunned at hearing someone use that word in anger. I get mad too but would never think to use that word because it's just not in my vocabulary. I'll stick to my favourite, "Dumb motherfucker."
ReplyDeletei cant help but draw a similarity here between kobe and galliano. although i agree dior took the right action in that situation the disparity between the two punishments is vast. i suppose it just goes to show that first off homophobia is still an acceptable form of bigotry and secondly that successful sports figures really can get away with anything. but kobe is really going above and beyond proving that point.
ReplyDelete@ Sylvia...not $1000.00,it's $100,000.00.
ReplyDeleteHe could buy a first time buyer house with that...
csi miami actor character speaks its say I uses black women as beards because they are easily to be fooled don,t believe ask singer (melanie fiona).
ReplyDeleteWARNING: THIS POST MOST LIKELY WILL PISS OFF A CRAP-POT-LOT OF PEOPLE. So I apologize in advance if you disagree with my opinions, but they are only my opinions.
ReplyDelete1. I do not like Kobe Bryant as a player - or how he seems as a person (I don't know him personally). He knows no humility, thus I care less about him.
2. REAL homophobia is a pitiful condition to have. It means that you are AFRAID of homosexuals (ridiculous!). Homophobia manifests itself in different ways, even through anger (discriminatory) and rage (like vocal gay-bashing). In this evolution of the condition, it CAN cross the line into the category of hate crime if it leads to physical injury or battery. There's also the bigotry inherent in those who refuse to serve, work with, or be associated with due to their bigotry. THOSE things all REALLY hurt homosexual people.
I have TONS of gay friends and lesbian friends - and I'm no bigot. My agent and my managers since 1994 have oddly all been homosexual. No plans to do it - but in this town homosexuality is so common you do not even think about it.
3. Kobe calling a ref a "Fucking Faggot" is not a hate crime, nor does it show homophobia. It shows Kobe has a limited vocabulary and an 8th grade temper. The ref (by the way) is NOT gay (so they said on NPR). Thus, it is not even an attack on a gay man.
This is NOT some type of queer-bashing or outing someone, nor threatening them. But many people wanting tabloid twitter attention take it too far. A MAN SHOULD NEVER BE FORCED into some re-education camp or rehab for saying something stupid. Mel Gibson, Michale Richards, Eminem, and Elvis Costello all have said bigoted things in the past. But forcing them to do a mea culpa AND go into some rehab (for stupid language??) only to come out "all clean, approved, and PC - Herr Furher - or Comrade!" It is like communisim or Nazism which forced people with big mouths and unpopular views to re-educate themselves to be acceptible once more. That it all bullshit!
Kobe did not say it to hurt anyone. He should be (and was) punished. Should be fined in the millions, but he should be punished for CURSING a ref and acting unprofessional. NOT for using a word some find offensive. If so? Where does it stop? Jeff Foxworthy bankrupt because REDNECK is now a slur? Would Jeff be called Redneckaphobic?
KOBE probably said the same thing as he did when he got mad in grade school. So hate him for being stupid, low class, or stuck up and a jerk. But please...PLEASE do NOT drag us further into this P.C. hellhole this world is becoming. If you don't like what a guy says? Stop giving them your money or time or attention. But people have fought and died for the right of Americans to have free speech - so even if I disagree or despise him for it? He still has that right.
Just as fans and others have the right to speak THEIR minds with free speech. But you start taking away that right (as in PC-Hollywood) and soon it's Ray Bradbury's books coming to life - or BRAVE NEW WORLD or 1984 (novel) all here for real.
Sorry, again, but I just wanted to say my piece. It's sad really - that more people in the media and blogs got more upset over Kobe's un-PC slurs, than they did over his (alleged) rape of a human girl. THAT is a a real crime.
Totally agree with Himmm. If the ref had been gay, it would've been totally different. People don't think about its meaning. Its just something that was offensive in grade school & he obviously hasn't matured. I think the bigger offense is his unprofessionalism. Its not like he was trying to offend the gay community.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't like Kobe.
Ice Angel, I'm going to dodge the serious implications of Kobe's words to tell you that you caught me off-guard with "Pollock". My first thought was that pollock, the fish, or Jackson Pollock's work or Sydney's films may not be to everyone's taste, but it was a little obscure. Then your real reference dawned on me.
ReplyDeleteOT -- I have practice w/that. One of my friends can't spell worth a damn. I have to mentally pronounce so many things he writes that i automatically start doing it when i read something that throws me. One of my favorite lines was his description of the vegetables [vigis] he had; he had wuhld ross [wild rice] and jew kenny [zucchini]. If he hadn't started by telling me that he had duck for dinner, the rest may never have been interpreted.
I don't know, Himmmm. Might have to disagree with you this time. This article by the first former NBAer just came out, and I think it states the problem succinctly:
ReplyDeletehttp://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/a-gay-former-player-responds-to-kobe-bryant/?hp#preview
Himmmmm....I completely completely agree with you 100%. You said it beautifully with the whole PC thing. Everyone nowadays is offended so easily. How come with the saying "you throw like a girl" is stated...or when they say to a guy "you're acting just like a woman." Can I sue and get all offended too? Slang and bashing isn't just limited to race. It's also gender.
ReplyDeleteRocketQueen: That's okay. Never apologize for keeping your own POV. Anyone who disagrees with me has every right to. I'm not perfect, just firm in my beliefs (be they even sketchy at times!).
ReplyDeletecrila?
Once someone told me I had the emotions of a woman. I THANKED THEM for that. It meant I had a heart. In fact, its been said I have the heart of a small child.
It's true.
It's in a jar on my desk right now.
(Bwahaha - sorry, I just love that line).
Just because someone is an arrogant gasbag doesn't mean he's any right to be shut up nor praised. I despise actors who use the bully pulpit to harp their beliefs, yet won't lift a finger to help. I hate Sean Penn - but do respect his right to be a douche. At least he walks the walk of a total ass. So maybe I hate him with respect. But to burn him in effigy for speaking his mind? I won't go there.
Kobe is a piece of shit - yes, I mean to imply that is something I wipe off my shoe in disgust.
ReplyDelete@elspeth: I was going to ask if Ice Angel was making a Jackson Polack reference!
ReplyDelete@Himmmmmm: I have to disagree with you also. If I were to call Jay Leno the N word, the harm in using the word lies in the fact that there's an implication that being African American is, in and of itself, less socially advantageous than NOT being an African American. Similarly, when someone is called a fa**ot, whether that person is gay or not, the harm lies in the implication that there's something inherently wrong with being gay. It shows an unconscious prejudice and bias, which hurts those people who hear/see the insult and who ARE gay or black or whatever.
ReplyDeleteAnd Linnea, your thoughts regarding gay athletes a demonstrate just that point. I'm sure there are many gay professional athletes. There are just very few gay professional athletes willing to live a full out-of-the-closet life, because they know they will be relegated to the kind of derision that Kobe so casually heaped on the ref.
So Himmmm, that's the reason gays and lesbians consider name-calling to be hate speech. It keeps people from feeling free to be who they really are, which is the purpose of all hate speech.
Gladys- that is exactly what I meant- perhaps I wasn't clear! I am sure there are so many gay athletes afraid to come out because of their team mates attitudes.
ReplyDelete