As expected, the NBA made no compromises in punishing what it said was an “offensive and derogatory” comment towards the gay community after last Saturday’s win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Because of this, they decided to impose the maximum possible fine of $100,000 under league rules.
The events unfolded when court reporter Shannon Spake asked Ball about the team’s defensive strategy against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the final play of the game. In his response, the Charlotte Hornets player said: “We loaded, no homo.”
When the penalty was announced and he lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 128:114, LaMelo explained his words publicly and indicated that at some point he no longer wanted to offend anyone. “Before we begin, I want to address the comment I made yesterday. I really didn’t mean anything derogatory or insulting anyone. I feel affection for everyone and in some cases I discriminate,” he explains.
Before Ball intervened, it was his coach at North Carolina, Charles Lee, who said his student had apologized and that he wanted to learn from what happened.
“As an organization, this is obviously not something we condone. Our social standards and the demands we place on our players in the environment we create are very important to us. I spoke to Melo and he apologized. From what I’ve seen since I’ve been with him, he loves everyone equally. He’s a joy to be with and this isn’t his usual way of acting. “We talked about the seriousness of the situation and how we should behave in the future,” he says.
(Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
