The NBA has fined Joakim Noah $50,000 after a television broadcast caught the Chicago Bulls center screaming a homophobic slur at a fan during the Miami Heat's Sunday night win at the American Airlines Arena. Noah apologized after Game 3, saying he shouldn't have said it. But the NBA has little tolerance for homophobic slurs; Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 during the regular season for making an identical comment toward an NBA referee during an April game.
Joakim Noah Fined $50,000 For Homophobic Slur Directed Toward Miami Heat Fan
Like the Noah incident, Kobe’s outburst was captured by the television broadcast.
Where the incidents differ is in the provocation; Kobe was called for a foul, leading to his outburst. Noah was speaking to a Heat fan, following alleged heckling by the fan toward Noah. Reports from the AAA suggest the fan made derogatory comments regarding Noah’s mother, a tried and true method of getting under someone’s skin.
By fining Noah, the NBA indicated that heckling doesn’t make a reponse like the Bull’s OK. By fining him less than Kobe was docked, it seems to indicate that the league is willing to judge context. Whether that context is the difference in wealth between extraordinarily wealthy Kobe and rookie-scale Joakim, or it’s in the provocation: that’s left for us to guess.
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