The National Basketball Association on Monday fined Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah $50,000 for inappropriate comments.
Noah used a derogatory and offensive term from the bench during the first quarter of Sunday’s 96-85 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
While the NBA’s official release declined to elaborate on the nature of the term, the Chicago Tribune reported that it was an anti-gay slur.
Chicago’s Taj Gibson told the paper that Noah engaged with a fan sitting near the Bulls’ bench because that fan targeted Noah “relentlessly” with verbal abuse, and a crack from the fan about Noah’s mother was what apparently set him off.
“I lost my cool,” Noah said in a statement posted on the Bulls’ website. “People who know me know I’m an open-minded guy. I’m not here to hurt anybody’s feelings. I’m just here to help win a basketball game.”
The Tribune also revealed that Noah was fined less than Lakers star Kobe Bryant’s $100,000 penalty because Bryant’s harangue was directed towards a game official.
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