Pacers Center Gets Fined $75,000 For Using An Anti-Gay Slur That LeBron Used Without Controversy In 2010
Tony Manfred
Jun. 3, 2013, 8:52 AM
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert has been fined $75,000 for saying "no homo" and jokingly calling the media "motherf***ers" during his postgame press conference late Saturday night.
"No homo" is anti-gay slang term that teenagers use at the end of a sentence with perceived gay implications.
Hibbert was praising teammate Paul George when he said, "I really felt I let Paul down in terms of having his back when LeBron was scoring in the post or getting to the paint because they stretched me out so much, no homo."
Hibbert issued an apology Sunday morning, and by all accounts this is an idiotic slip-of-the-tongue.
But it wasn't the only vulgar term Hibbert used in the press conference. When asked why he didn't finish higher in Defense Player of the Year voting, Hibbert said, "... ya'll motherf***ers don't watch us play throughout the year."
The fine, and the outcry over Hibbert's comments in general, are a sign of how far the NBA has come on anti-gay language in recent years.
LeBron James said "no homo" at a presser in 2010, but wasn't fined. Here's video of that:
"No homo" isn't a violently homophobic term. But the fact that the NBA takes even a casual anti-gay slur this seriously shows how dramatically things have changed in the last few years.
In 2010, no one raised an eyebrow when the best player in the league said "no homo." Three years later, Hibbert's comment drew an immediate fine and became a huge story.
Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for calling a referee a "f****t" in 2011. It was an eye-popping number at the time, but it set the precedent that this sort of language won't be tolerated.
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