John Amaechi, Gay Ex-NBA Player, Addresses Kobe Bryant's Outburst

Ex-NBA player John Amaechi, who became the first NBA player to speak publicly about being gay in 2007, addressed Kobe Bryant yelling an anti-gay slur at a referee in an interview with USA Today NBA reporter J. Michael Falgoust.

In the middle of Tuesday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant called referee Bennie Adams a "f--king f--got."

Amaechi said that he is surprised "that people are surprised" because Kobe used an "everyday word" that he heard.

The former Magic center also weighed in on Bryant's apology, calling his statement the typical, "I apologize if you're offended" type of comment.

"There's only one contemporary meaning for that," he said. "We have to take it as unacceptable as a white person screaming the N-word at a black person. I can tell you that I've been called a f--got fairly routinely, and yet people seem to hold off on calling me the N-word. We've got to mirror that progress."

The five-time NBA champion was fined $100,000 for the slur.

Amaechi, who also played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz, went on to say that he doesn't think Kobe is "any more homophobic than the average person."

Click HERE to read the entire interview.