Chicago Bulls Center Joakim Noah was fined $50,000 by the National Basketball Association for his use of an anti-gay slur during a playoff game on May 22, according to the Associated Press.
Noah, who was responding to fan heckling, appeared to use the same slur that cost Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant $100,000 in fines less than a month ago.
Noah apologized immediately after the game:
Anyone besides me miss Leo Mazzone? The former Atlanta Braves pitching coach nurtured the talents of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine during the height of Atlanta's division dominance from the mid ‘90s to 2005. But more importantly, Mazzone never made the kinds of headlines that his successor, Roger McDowell, made late yesterday.
Justin Quinn accused McDowell of making the anti-gay remarks in response to fan heckling while the Braves were on the road in San Francisco. Quinn and his two daughters were watching pre-game batting practice when the alleged incident occurred.
Quinn was incensed enough to go to attorney Gloria Allred with his story. Allred held a press conference yesterday because, well, that's what she does. As gimmicky as her presence is in this story, or any story really, Allred does have a certain knack of being able to publicize her cause.