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Kobe Bryant(notes) has criticized by the press, fined and admonished by the NBA. And he has nobody but himself to blame for what he did on Tuesday night. Most of us have tempers, but most people also find a way to stop themselves from lowering themselves into shouting a homophobic slur 50 feet across a basketball court.
It doesn't matter if it wasn't meant for our ears. It doesn't matter that NBA players might do it all the time. And it doesn't matter in the slightest that Kobe Bryant wasn't using the usual, hateful, meaning behind a homophobic slur that starts with an "f" and ends with those who are mindful of the pain and suffering that the LGBT community has gone through cringing as we hear it.
Before we get to the specifics of what led to the Lakers All-Star being fined $100k by the NBA on Wednesday, here is Bryant's statement on the incident:
"What I said last night should not be taken literally.  My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period.  The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone."
We know, Kobe. That's not the point.
Bryant apparently called referee Bennie Adams a "f*****" following both a personal and technical foul call that didn't go Kobe's way on Tuesday night (the video can be seen here), and Bryant has been rightfully excoriated for it. The league is investigating the tape, and the (needed) discussion is out in the open.
And the discussion should end here. He shouldn't have said it on Tuesday night, he shouldn't be saying the word away from cameras, and he shouldn't ever say it again. Doesn't matter, no excuses, I don't want to hear it. There are hundreds of individual curse words to use in that situation, don't use that one.