On Friday, the NBA fined Kevin Durant $50,000 for his exchange with actor Michael Rapaport for what the league called “offensive and derogatory remarks.”
The fine was a result of homophobic and misogynistic language Durant used during an Instagram direct message exchange with Rapaport that the actor leaked on his social media (warning: contains explicit language).
That is the maximum fine allowed for a player, but at what point is a fine not enough? Is $50,000 enough to act as a deterrent and curb the behaviour? Is it enough to show not just the LGBTQ+ community and women, but the entire public where you stand on the issue?
The fine is the same amount Meyers Leonard was given for his anti-Semitic remarks last month. Under the league’s collective bargaining agreement, player fines can’t surpass $50,000 for “any statement having, or that was designed to have, an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interests of basketball,” but the league is permitted to combine the fine with a suspension. There’s some precedence as Rajon Rondo was suspended for a game for using a gay slur toward an official back in Dec. 2015, but that historical precedence wasn’t applied in this case between Durant and Rapaport.
The beef between Durant and Rapaport began on Dec. 22 when Rapoport tweeted about Durant’s awkward interview on Inside the NBA.
The feud must’ve continued after this as Rapaport decided to post those private messages he had with Durant in the aftermath of that December interview earlier this week.
And, of course, making public those direct messages wasn’t a good look on Rapaport’s part, but what’s more concerning is the fact that people have a bigger issue with the actor making the DMs public than the actual things that were said by Durant.
I also don’t agree with the choice to make it public and I’m not sure what Rapaport’s end game is, but that’s the least problematic portion of this exchange.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash told reporters the organization has spoken to Durant and is keeping the conversation in house. And in his first public comments since being hurt on Feb. 13, Durant spoke about the threatening DMs.
“I’m sorry that people have seen the language I used. That’s not what I want people to see or hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out on the floor,” Durant said.
Hopefully you can “move past it?” How are you moving past it without addressing it and acknowledging why it was wrong? Durant didn’t apologize for using the language and he didn’t apologize to the communities he offended. He apologized for the fact the language he used became public.
Durant spent more time in his press availability addressing the status of his hamstring than his comments. And there wasn’t even a more expanded apology when he addressed it on Twitter either. He just tried to explain it away by saying he has had even worse conversations with Rapaport, which, although revealing, doesn’t make it better.
Me and mike talk CRAZIER than this on the regular and today he’s pissed….My bad mike, damn!!
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) March 30, 2021
I don’t doubt that Durant’s intent was to attack Rapaport and not directly offend members of the LGBTQ+ community. The problem is his intent doesn’t override the reality that he did both when those comments became public. The issue is he used being gay as his vehicle to offend Rapaport and that in itself is offensive. Not just to the LGBTQ+ community, but to anyone who wants the NBA and sports as a whole to be more inclusive.
By using anti-gay language to diss someone, it implies that there’s something wrong with being gay. The insult denotes that being a gay man makes him less of a man.
You don’t have to be gay to find that problematic.
Members of other equity-seeking groups should be the first to say I empathize with the negative portrayal of this group and thus I want to stand up on their behalf to help eradicate it. That’s what the NBA players along with everyday members of society like myself have asked for in regard to anti-Black racism. The NBA has stepped up to the plate more than any other league (aside from the WNBA) in doing that. That’s what all sports leagues should be doing now in regards to anti-Asian hate, too. And the NBA has to keep that same energy or, at the very least, disavow those who infer there’s something wrong with being gay like Durant has in this case.
Worse still, was Durant putting it in writing that he was threatening Rapaport. You shouldn’t threaten anyone at any point, but if you vocalize that threat in concert with disparaging homophobic language, then that will be triggering for some.
Anti-gay hate crimes are on the rise in the U.S., according to the FBI. If you’ve been a victim of an assault because of your sexual orientation, does the NBA feel like a welcoming place if one of the league’s marquee players can’t understand why that behaviour is offensive?
It’s not a coincidence that there are no openly gay players currently in the NBA. And those who have come out in recent memory, like Jon Amaechi and Jason Collins, only did so after or at the end of their careers, respectively.
We can’t sit around and wonder when an active player is going to come out, but then look the other way when we minimize the veracity of using homophobic language flippantly.
Donald Sterling lost his franchise when a private exchange between him and his mistress was leaked in which he was exhibiting racist behaviour. Due to pressure from the players and sponsors, Sterling was banished from the league. It was Adam Silver’s first major decision, and in making it he was sending a message that he was supporting his players and was going to be on the right side of social issues even when inconvenient. The league office needs to show the same support and strength on this issue as well.
No, the consequences shouldn’t be nearly as strong as they were for Sterling, who was a habitual line-stepper and who probably should’ve lost his franchise for a laundry list of other transgressions, but they surely should be more punitive to a $50,000 fine and then sweeping the matter under the rug.
This June, the Nets most likely will be deep on a playoff run led by Durant as their best player. At the same time, the NBA and the Nets will be celebrating Pride and sending messages of equality and inclusiveness. Well, they don’t have to wait until June or film a PSA; they can show how they define equality and whom they want to be allies for with how they respond to Durant’s behaviour now.
The response, or lack thereof, to the incident by the player, team and league is a missed opportunity on a matter that’s too important to just hope it goes away with a non-apologetic apology.
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