Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah
apologized Sunday night for hurling an anti-gay slur at a fan.
During game 3 of the Eastern Conference
finals against the Miami Heat, the six-foot-eleven, 26-year-old Noah
was called for a personal foul against LeBron James in the opening
quarter. As TNT's cameras remained fixed on the benched player, he
appeared to shout “faggot” at a fan in Miami's American Airlines
Arena. (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
“I apologize,” Noah said. “The
fan said something to me that I thought was disrespectful, and I said
some things that I shouldn't have said. I was frustrated and I don't
mean no disrespect to anybody. I just got caught up.”
He added that he expects to be fined
for the outburst.
The incident comes after Los Angeles
Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant was fined $100,00 for using the
same anti-gay slur against referee Bennie Adams last month. Bryant
apologized but added that he'll appeal the fine, prompting
former NBA player John Amaechi, who is gay, to question Bryant's
sincerity.
A
PSA featuring Phoenix Suns players Grant Hill and Jared Dudley
urging young people not use the word “gay” as an insult was being
broadcast by the NBA.