LaMelo Ball addresses anti-gay comment after $100,000 fine
NY Post
Charlotte Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball apologized Sunday for the fine-inducing anti-gay comment he had made one day earlier.
In a post-game interview Saturday after the Hornets’ win over the Bucks, Ball, 23, was asked about his team’s defensive prowess on the final play of the game — a contested jumper that Giannis Antetokounmpo missed to hand Charlotte their fifth win of the season — and responded, “We loaded up, no homo.”
“Before we get started, I just want to address the comment yesterday,” Ball told reporters Sunday following the Hornets 128-114 loss to the Cavaliers. “I really didn’t mean anything [by it] and don’t want to offend anybody. I’ve got love for everybody, and I don’t discriminate.”
The NBA levied the maximum allowable penalty for that “offensive and derogatory” language: a $100,000 fine.
Charlotte’s rookie head coach Charles Lee told reporters he spoke to Ball about the incident, noting that the fifth-year guard was “very apologetic” and vowed to learn from his misbehavior.
“He and I talked about it and he definitely said, going forward, ‘I’m going to be better,’” Lee said. “And I want to see that happen.
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