UPDATE: After reviewing the incident, the NBA fined Kobe Bryant $100,000 for yelling an anti-gay slur at a referee during Tuesday night's game.
Kobe released a statement addressing the outburst.
"What I said last night should not be taken literally," he said. "My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.”
In the middle of the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 102-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant received a technical foul for continuing to argue with the referee.
As Bryant made his way to the bench, he was visibly upset and shouted a homophobic slur at referee Bennie Adams.
TNT cameras caught the five-time NBA champion clearly calling Adams a "f--king f--got."
Steve Kerr noticed and said that TNT "might want to take the camera off him right now, for the children watching."
On Monday, the NBA rescinded Bryant's 15th technical foul of the season.
Scroll down to watch the video.
WATCH:
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.