Kobe's fine
keithvanhorn
3,855 Posts
Kobe got fined $100,000 for saying "fucking faggot" on the bench after getting a technical foul. He didn't get another tech for saying it - the ref didn't hear it, and he clearly didn't say it to the ref (because he obviously didn't want to get another tech).
Isn't this a bit ridiculous? If he had said it while stubbing his toe would the same fine apply? I mean, people yell out horrible curses when they get mad. Jeez...at least he doesn't need the $100k.
Worst fine ever though?
Isn't this a bit ridiculous? If he had said it while stubbing his toe would the same fine apply? I mean, people yell out horrible curses when they get mad. Jeez...at least he doesn't need the $100k.
Worst fine ever though?
Comments
One can argue about how this kind of thing is governed, but despite the fact that these guys are competitors and get emotional, they know they are constantly in the spotlight (during a game at least), and there is always the "role model" aspect to the big name stars, especially Kobe. Its not just basketball...there is a big push to get these kinds of derogatory remarks out of professional sports because of the perception that the kids will just ape it.
Agree or not, its a hefty fine...perhaps a little over the top, but likely so to send a message.
it's so arbitrary though - and it seems like the nba has a separate standard :racist:
nhl players are basically allowed to have fist fights. can you image that going on in the nba in 2011? even back in the 90s, remember the shit-storm after barkley unintentionally spit on some little girl? i'm as liberal as they come, and we have a lot of gay clients that have become great friends, but i still say "fucking faggot" on occasion when someone cuts me off in traffic. i imagine that if i was the most competitive player in the nba, it would slip out on the court too.
That being said, if there is a way we can get some of these "expletives" (i.e. faggot, retard) out of our popular language I think we'll be better for it.
Are you shitting me?
they are just words man...
To you, maybe...but to homosexuals and disabled they are a lot more.
post of the year
The fine might be a little on the high side, but in the scheme of things...this fine compared to his weekly salary probably comes out to the same percentage an average working person getting a parking ticket.
But you just used them, so send me $100. There are some records I want to buy.
Asterisks for everyone!
You are right, let's repeal the first amendment. Also, when an adrenaline-filled athlete says something in the heat of the moment (on the bench and under his breath no less) it is clearly the same as giving a speech or an interview. That's why NBA players make so much money; they are gifted with a unique ability to get elbowed in the face (or put on the bench after a bad call is made) and not yell out "FUCKKKK!!!" or "fucking faggot" or whatever else everyone in the world is guilty of doing in moments of anger/rage/adrenaline-filled-rushes.
Lol, me too!!!
It's really kind of sad that 95% of the time when people invoke the First Amendment, it's in situations where it doesn't even remotely apply.
Once again - it doesn't mean you can say anything you want, anywhere you want, to anybody you want and not be subject to any consequences.
I think 10g would have covered it.
this is really dumb. comparing nba/nhl/nfl players to joe shmoe the office guy is apples and oranges. there is also a remedy already in the nba-it's called a technical foul. however, when your not "in the game" or directing it at a referee, it's hardly fair for the nba to act like the etiquette police. to put it in your terms, if your office hr guy was patrolling the parking lot and read your lips as you said "fucking faggot" in your car after some guy took your spot, i hardly see the basis for reprimand, no matter what your employee handbook says.
*sigh*
I knew it was only a matter of time before someone introduced this totally irrelevant concept into this discussion.
Kinda feellin' the slippery slope on this. From a lawyer, no less.
the original statement was in response to dude's post about how we should be phasing certain words out of our vocabulary. but please educate me on employment law and the irrelevancy of the first amendment.
Other wise he would have sat last night....
Maybe not, unless you are televised nation-wide.
I have a job that has quite a few "adrenaline filled" moments from time to time. If in my "adrenaline filled" moments I used that language, I would be fired. Plain and simple. But you seem to hold professional athletes in a higher regard to the average working person. I don't know why this is. Regardless, NO ONE has a right to consequence-free actions in the workplace, no matter what he/she does for a living. Kobe was stupid to say what he said knowing that there are cameras and microphones and thousands of eyeballs at his place of work. Consider the fine as a tax on idiocy.
PS: this thread is the 5th hit on a google search for "kobe fine"
you seem to caught up in comparing kobe (a professional entertainer) with you. the nba's action is arbitrary. they have an interest in protecting their brand of entertainment, but regulating this type of activity is 1) a slippery slope (the term of the thread) and 2) impossible to uniformly apply. do they just fine the guys who get caught using this language on camera? what about if someone overhears them on a team bus? in an airport? in private? it's just too stupid to even argue about. i cannot believe people truly believe he should be fined. the strut cannot be that dumb.