Making an example of Kobe

Kobe' Bryant's display of vulgarity Tuesday night — specifically calling a ref a "fucking faggot" — should not be overlooked. It wasn't by the NBA, who promptly fined the five-time NBA Champion $100,000.

As we discussed at the beginning of the semester, what happens in sport reflects the happenings of our cultural and societal beliefs, too. Clearly, people still have issues with homophobia and discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation. Whether Kobe is homophobic and or hateful of gays is up for debate — I'm almost certainly he's not — but "faggot" is not an acceptable term and should be treated that way.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the whole ordeal is the way it was treated by Bryant and Lakers coach Phil Jackson afterwards. Bryant was very apologetic and genuine, but he even alluded to his mistake being that he was 'caught' — not that what he said was a mistake:

Hopefully, other players look at what happened to me and what I said and understand you have cameras around the league and there are a lot of things being said that shouldn't be said.

Then there was Jackson, who was even more Blunt in suggesting that Kobe's problem was getting caught, not what he said; "It's unfortunate he got caught saying something like that. It came in the heat of the game."

Some people protest the $100,000 fine, and say, "It's too much." If so, please tell me what would be appropriate — maybe a number that is irrelevant to Kobe would be more appropriate? The whole point of a fine is to send a message and to deter people. Bryant makes over $24 million a year, and that's only money from his basketball salary. Bryant also rakes in about $10 million a year with endorsements alone.

So really, is the fine that outrageous? As arguably the biggest superstar in the game of basketball today, David Stern and the NBA — who I rarely agree with — made Bryant an example. And it was the right move. Offensive comments reflecting any sort of hate towards a particular group is not to be tolerated.

Who knows, maybe one of Kobe's teammates on the bench sitting next to him is gay? Either way, it doesn't matter. Bryant's actions were completely uncalled for.