NBA Player Who Called Ref A ‘F****t’ Says He ‘Didn’t Mean To Offend,’ Offers No Apology

After calling a gay referee a “faggot,” the NBA’s Rajon Rondo tweeted out a few words, and absolutely no apology.

Today’s big news is the revelation that earlier this month, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo called a referee, Bill Kennedy, a “faggot,” leading to Rondo being suspended for one game, and Kennedy to now come out as gay:

After Being Called ‘Faggot’ NBA Ref Comes Out To ‘Send A Message’ To Young Athletes

Not only did Rondo call Kennedy an ugly slur, but used it in a vile and hugely offensive manner.

“You’re a mother———- faggot,” Rondo said, according to Yahoo Sports. “You’re a f——— faggot, Billy.”

That led Kennedy to announce that in fact, he is gay. Kennedy today is being hailed as a hero because in his statement acknowledging that he is gay, Kennedy said he came out to “send a message to young men and women in sports that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are.”

Now the heat has been turned up on the Celtics and on Rondo.

Rondo responded this afternoon with these two tweets:

In case anyone tries to call them an apology, clearly, they are not. They’re not even the inane, “I apologize if I offended anyone” non-apology apology.

Comcast Sports reporter James Ham tweeted that “Divac said that Rajon Rondo has apologized,” and posted this statement from Celtics’ general Manager Vlade Divac, which also claims Rondo has apologized:

But even NBC Sports isn’t having it.

“What else did you expect him to say? That said, it’s not enough,” NBC’s Kurt Helin writes. “First, you do not use the word in question unless you are trying to offend. Second, to parse the words, that is not an apology to Kennedy or anyone else.”

“The word used in question should not ever be used — not in the heat of the moment, not under any circumstance,” Helin continues. “It doesn’t matter if Rondo knew Kennedy was gay or not (my guess is that he did although there is no way to prove it, however it does make things look worse). There are certain words we as a society have deemed offensive and not to be used; this word has become one of them. As it should be.” 

“That Rondo would use that word draws into question his feelings about the LGBT community,” Helin adds. “This is not going to go away quickly for Rondo or the Kings, and that Twitter ‘apology’ likely will not be enough.”

 

Image by Alvin Domondon via Flickr and a CC license