September 23, 2013
NBA Player Apologizes for Using Gay Slur During Game
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Tony Parker, of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, apologized last weekend for using the word French word for "fag" during the 2013 European basketball semifinals, OutSports reports.
Parker, who is from France, was caught on a microphone using the French word for "fags" ("tapettes") when playing for his home country against Spain.
"J'ai l'impression qu'on avait peur, qu'on jouait comme des 'tapettes,'" Parker said, according to OutSports. (Google translation: "I feel we were afraid, we were playing as 'fags.')
"I'd like to apologize to the gay community. I did not want to offend them," Parker said at a press conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where the event was held. "If I have offended the gay community, I apologize it was not my intention at all. It is not right to say what I said I'm sorry and apologize."
As OutSports' Jim Buzinski writes the NBA has fined athletes for using anti-gay langue but says "I am not sure if the league could claim jurisdiction for something said at another event."
Spurs Nation reports that Parker took to Twitter when NBA's Jason Collins came out earlier this year.
"Really hope people will RESPECT Jason Collins for his decision to come out. Just glad he can now relax and not be afraid to be who he is," Parker wrote.
Check out a clip of Parker apologizing below:
