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Kobe Bryant Fined $100,000 for gay slur

Helvidius

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Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant fined $100,000 for directing homophobic slur at ref - ESPN Los Angeles

After receiving a technical foul during Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant stormed to the bench, hit his seat before sitting down, threw a towel and then yelled "Bennie!" toward referee Bernie Adams. Bryant then leaned back and muttered a gay slur.

This isn't about the legality of Kobe Bryant's gay slur. This is simply a debate as to whether or not you agree the fine was appropriate, and whether you think what he said was a big deal or if it is being blown out of proportion.
 
I'm honestly tired of political correctness in this country. Yes, he used a slur. Did he mean to offend gay people? no, and I don't think the referee was gay either. Kobe's known for saying the n-word all the time on the court, don't think they've ever fined him for that. If you get all up in arms about it, that only gives the word more power. I know many fellow liberals might disagree with me on this one.

He should ONLY be fined for talking back at the ref because that is unsportsmanlike conduct; honestly this got so much more media hype than it deserved because he used a slur. If he had just said "bitch" or something like that I'm not sure if it would have been this big of an issue. Seriously, if Kobe had said "bitch," would a female canine advocacy group start bitching?

As an aside, a few weeks ago there was a campaign by a student group on campus to eliminate the word "retard" from speech. I was like, seriously?
 
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The team has the right to fine him, and its exercise of that right does not bother me. Kobe's actions affect the image of the team itself. They damage the team's legitimate objective to portray itself as a professional organization comprised of athletes who conduct themselves in a sportsman-like manner.
 
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The team has the right to fine him, and them exercising that right does not bother me. His actions affect the image of the team itself. They no doubt have the legitimate objective of portraying themselves as a professional team composed of respectful athletes who conduct themselves in a sportsman-like manner.

Just a little clarification, it was the League that fined him, not the Lakers team organization.
 
Just a little clarification, it was the League that fined him, not the Lakers team organization.
Thank you. Fortunately, that doesn't change my opinion.
 
Thank you. Fortunately, that doesn't change my opinion.

I agree. The NBA markets a particular product, it does have professional standards to uphold and a public image to craft, and unsportsmanlike conduct should be penalized.
 
If I were the NBA, I would be more upset with TNT for putting the camera on a grown man who is clearly angry. Did they really think he wouldn't be doing some cursing? I don't think this is a big deal. I call my friends queer all the time and I have friends who are gay that do the same. All about context...

PS: I am a Celtics fan so it is rare for me to defend Kobe...
 
If I were the NBA, I would be more upset with TNT for putting the camera on a grown man who is clearly angry. Did they really think he wouldn't be doing some cursing? I don't think this is a big deal. I call my friends queer all the time and I have friends who are gay that do the same. All about context...

PS: I am a Celtics fan so it is rare for me to defend Kobe...

I agree; even Steve Kerr was like "you might wanna take the camera off that angry man right now" LOL.

I wonder if KG the potty mouth has ever been fined for anything similar.
 
I agree. The NBA markets a particular product, it does have professional standards to uphold and a public image to craft, and unsportsmanlike conduct should be penalized.

This is it. It's not that he used a gay slur, it's that he was caught doing something that makes the league look bad.

If I were the NBA, I would be more upset with TNT for putting the camera on a grown man who is clearly angry. Did they really think he wouldn't be doing some cursing? I don't think this is a big deal. I call my friends queer all the time and I have friends who are gay that do the same. All about context...

PS: I am a Celtics fan so it is rare for me to defend Kobe...

You are right, but it does not change the fact that players should know better than to do things like this. Besides, it's not like 100k really matters much to him.
 
If I were the NBA, I would be more upset with TNT for putting the camera on a grown man who is clearly angry. Did they really think he wouldn't be doing some cursing? I don't think this is a big deal. I call my friends queer all the time and I have friends who are gay that do the same. All about context...

PS: I am a Celtics fan so it is rare for me to defend Kobe...

Really. It's TNT's fault. *Shakin' head here*

I'm not sure if he'd have been fined if it hadn't been caught on camera, but, nonetheless, I'm glad to see the NBA take a stand against particularly distasteful unsportsmanlike conduct. If he has endorsements, maybe he'll lose some of those if this gets legs.
 
This isn't about the legality of Kobe Bryant's gay slur.
Is there really any question about its legal status?
This is simply a debate as to whether or not you agree the fine was appropriate, and whether you think what he said was a big deal or if it is being blown out of proportion.
As to the fine, at first glance it seems outrageous. However, given the money that Kobe's prob'ly pulling in, must take a whole lot of money to get his attention--which I think was the NBA's goal. But w/o numbers and a whole butt ton more info, I don't know if I agree with the precise amount or not.
As to what he said, seems irrelevant to me. The fact that he was harassing a ref is sufficient to warrant censure.
 
At least Kobe still has his job. If someone at, say, Exxon-Mobil had done that, he would have been fired. Kobe should be thankful that this is all that happened to him.
 
Kobe is an asswipe and I support the fine 100%. And you can bet that he probably uses gay slurs like this all the time off the court as people do not say crap like that out of the blue. That kind of stuff is already in his mind which is why it came out of his big ugly whore ass mouth.
 
Kobe does suck. He pretty much gets away with anything. But a slur is just a slur and perhaps people use it all the time; but there's nothing one can really do about it. The employer in this case decided it was not appropriate for work, but it's still rather excessive IMO.
 
I think the fine was appropriate.

I would say that even if he said spick, greaser, taco bender, beaner, wetback, nigger, redneck, kike, himey, WOP, dego, mic, cracker, honkey, gook chink, slope, dink, raghead, camal jockey, sand-nigger, peter-puffer, jigaboo, porch monkey, spade, moose lip, blue gum...shall I keep going?

Keep going, or not, he should have been smacked with a 100 grand fine.
 
At least Kobe still has his job. If someone at, say, Exxon-Mobil had done that, he would have been fired. Kobe should be thankful that this is all that happened to him.

Kobe is much more valuable to the NBA as a player, than as an ex-player. He knows it, and the League knows it. It's all about the bucks, buddy.
 
I think the fine was appropriate.

I would say that even if he said spick, greaser, taco bender, beaner, wetback, nigger, redneck, kike, himey, WOP, dego, mic, cracker, honkey, gook chink, slope, dink, raghead, camal jockey, sand-nigger, peter-puffer, jigaboo, porch monkey, spade, moose lip, blue gum...shall I keep going?

Keep going, or not, he should have been smacked with a 100 grand fine.

Every so often you surprise me. Usually when I stop and think, it really isn't surprising and you are actually consistent.
 
I'm honestly tired of political correctness in this country...As an aside, a few weeks ago there was a campaign by a student group on campus to eliminate the word "retard" from speech. I was like, seriously?

Saying "faggot" is not an issue of political (in)correctness. Using terms like faggot, nigger, wetback, etc, are beyond the realm of political correctness.

That said - I agree that he likely wasn't using it as a gay slur at a gay person. Nonetheless, he represents the Lakers and the NBA, neither want to be associated with that kind of negative press. I think his fine was appropriate.

On a side note, I use retarded all the time and I hate it when people tell me not to say it because not only does it get the point across, it has a nice sound to it.
 
Saying "faggot" is not an issue of political (in)correctness. Using terms like faggot, nigger, wetback, etc, are beyond the realm of political correctness.

That said - I agree that he likely wasn't using it as a gay slur at a gay person. Nonetheless, he represents the Lakers and the NBA, neither want to be associated with that kind of negative press. I think his fine was appropriate.

On a side note, I use retarded all the time and I hate it when people tell me not to say it because not only does it get the point across, it has a nice sound to it.

I agree the fine was appropriate, not disagreeing with that. However I wonder if the result would have been same would have happened had he used a generic insult (rather than a slur), or if he hadn't been caught on camera.
 
I agree the fine was appropriate, not disagreeing with that. However I wonder if the result would have been same would have happened had he used a generic insult (rather than a slur), or if he hadn't been caught on camera.

Probably not - but generic insults do not denote a sense of prejudice that I assume the NBA doesn't want to be associated with. Even if he didn't mean it to be offensive to gay people, the term still links homosexuality with stupidity or lameness and still implies homophobia or prejudice. Calling someone stupid or a moron doesn't denote either. It's less about political correctness (the difference between saying black/negro and African-American). It's more about prejudice and its negative implications.
 
Probably not - but generic insults do not denote a sense of prejudice that I assume the NBA doesn't want to be associated with. Even if he didn't mean it to be offensive to gay people, the term still links homosexuality with stupidity or lameness and still implies homophobia or prejudice. Calling someone stupid or a moron doesn't denote either. It's less about political correctness (the difference between saying black/negro and African-American). It's more about prejudice and its negative implications.

The thing is, every insult, when you get down to the true meaning of the word, is going to insult SOMEONE. Would saying the word "retard" denote some sort of prejudice towards the mentally handicapped (or whatever we're supposed to call them these days?) How about if he had called the referee a "bitch?" Does that mean Kobe holds some sort of prejudice towards female canines? What if he had said "*****?" See what I'm getting at? Our society has allowed certain words in our vocabulary to accumulate too much meaning, and people attach waaay too much importance to them sometimes. That's my personal opinion.
 
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Kobe is much more valuable to the NBA as a player, than as an ex-player. He knows it, and the League knows it. It's all about the bucks, buddy.

Which is why Kobe should stop bitching about the fine, and be thankful he doesn't work at Exxon-Mobil, where his lame ass would be put out on the street in a New York minute for that.
 
The thing is, every insult, when you get down to the true meaning of the word, is going to insult SOMEONE. Would saying the word "retard" denote some sort of prejudice towards the mentally handicapped (or whatever we're supposed to call them these days?) How about if he had called the referee a "bitch?" Does that mean Kobe holds some sort of prejudice towards female canines? What if he had said "*****?" See what I'm getting at?

Sure every insult will insult someone and many are based in prejudice. However, the difference between things like bitch, retard, ***** etc. and faggot, nigger (said by a white player), wetback, etc. is that even though the former can be or are based in prejudice (against women, mentally handicapped, whoever), they have become mainstream in such a way that their link to prejudice is much less sharp.

Put another way - when someone says ***** or retard, there isn't a straight link to prejudice because both words have become an integral part of colloquial language to the point that although the prejudice is there, we think of them more as standard insults like stupid or lame. When someone says faggot, it's automatically homophobia/prejudice. It's that obvious, unavoidable link to prejudice that makes the difference. That's how I see it.
 
Sure every insult will insult someone and many are based in prejudice. However, the difference between things like bitch, retard, ***** etc. and faggot, nigger (said by a white player), wetback, etc. is that even though the former can be or are based in prejudice (against women, mentally handicapped, whoever), they have become mainstream in such a way that their link to prejudice is much less sharp.

Put another way - when someone says ***** or retard, there isn't a straight link to prejudice because both words have become an integral part of colloquial language to the point that although the prejudice is there, we think of them more as standard insults like stupid or lame. When someone says faggot, it's automatically homophobia/prejudice. It's that obvious, unavoidable link to prejudice that makes the difference. That's how I see it.

I think that's where you and I disagree. It really depends on who is using it and how. I have some close friends who are really loose with their use of the word "faggot" and they don't mean anything harmful or negative by it. In fact I'd say the majority of the people who use the word in everyday speech don't mean it as a slight toward gays.
 
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