The Charlotte Hornets star has addressed the anti-gay comment that he made during a live postgame interview that resulted in a $100K fine from the NBA…
Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball has addressed his recent postgame anti-gay comment that resulted in a $100,000 fine from the NBA. Ball is in his fifth season with the Charlotte Hornets, who selected him with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
After the Hornets 115-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, November 16 Ball took part in a live interview with the Hornets’ FanDuel Sports Network, saying: “Yeah, we loaded up — no homo — but that’s what we wanted.” The post-match interview sparked a huge debate online and the following day Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, said that Ball would be fined a whopping $100,000 for the “offensive and derogatory” comment.
On Sunday, November 17 following the Hornets’ 128-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ball broke his silence amid the swirling controversy. The 23-year-old star told reporters that he wanted to address the comment before his postgame interview.
“Before we get started, I just want to address the comment yesterday. I really didn’t mean anything [by it] and don’t want to offend anybody,” Ball said. “I’ve got love for everybody, and I don’t discriminate.”
Hornets head coach Charles Lee was also asked about Ball’s comment after the loss to Cleveland on Sunday. Lee, 40, said, “As an organization, that is obviously not something we condone,” and told reporters that the organization’s standards for the “environment” created by players is “really important.”
Charlotte’s head coach said he spoke to Ball regarding the comment, assuring reporters that the NBA star is “obviously very apologetic.”
“From what I’ve seen since I’ve been around him, he loves everyone,” Lee continued. “He’s a joy to have around the facility and it’s not typically how he operates. He and I talked about the seriousness of the situation and how he needs to conduct himself going forward.”
Lee added that Ball promised, “I’m going to be better” during their conversation. “We will make sure to hold him accountable to that,” the head coach said.
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