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Kobe Bryant talks about his anti-gay slur: “What I said was ignorant and I really didn’t realize what I was saying.”
Towleroad.com has a link to an ESPN interview with Kobe Bryant who, at last, goes beyond his brief apology made last week after he called a referee an anti-gay slur during a recent Lakers game.
Here is part of what he had to say: “Even though I didn’t mean it that way, I’ve since learned what that word still means to a lot of people. I went on-line myself and I did my own research and I saw and I read about kids who were committing suicide because of being teased for who they are. I don’t play that. I used to beat up a lot of kids even in high school who used to tease my friends because they were gay, or because they were black, or because they were Jewish, or because they were yellow, or because they were whatever. For people who don’t think my apology is sincere, they don’t know me. This isn’t over for me. I really plan to do more. What I said was ignorant and I really didn’t realize what I was saying. Now that I do and realize how it affects people I really plan to do more and to help with the awareness.”
Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
Robert says:
This is much better than the first. Here is what I would have liked to hear,
“I regret using a hurtful and hateful word in response to a technical foul. I know better than that, and it is inexcusable. I will regret this moment for the rest of my life and I will never do it again. After doing considerable soul searching and research indicating that there is a connection between hate speech and suicide, I feel as though it is necessary for me to make a more extensive apology to all the people I hurt and the cause of full equal rights for gay people, the most basic of which is freedom from discrimination. I should have known better, especially as an African American man. I plan to make this up to the gay community, and would like to match the NBA’s fine of 100K by giving an equal amount to GLADD who had the courage to stand up against homophobia and call me on my inappropriate conduct. Even though I may not have been purposefully homophobic at the time, more is expected of me because of my God given talents and athletic fame than the average person. I am truly sorry, and I hope the official and fans will forgive me for my behavior and lack of judgement. I would call upon my fellow athletes to do the same. “
venita broadnax says:
If one of you kids come to you and say daddy Im gay, you gonna call them a fag to. watch what you say. from a Lesbian woman