Joakim Noah: Full of Bull

The Face of Homophobia

Thank you to my friend Jennifer Lockett for sharing this unfortunate story.  Just as we thought progress was made in the wake of the Bigot Bryant, with Rick Welts, President and CEO of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, coming out of the closet, we now have Joakim Noah using the word “faggot” as he yells it at a fan:

I don’t want to be a distraction for the team, and I apologize for what I said. What I said wasn’t right. I don’t want to disrespect anybody. That’s not what I’m about. I just got caught up in something a fan said and I went back at him, and I’m going to face the consequences as a man.

So what should your consequences be then, as “a man?”  Should you do more than just give up the $50,000?  Should you have to go through some type of sensitivity training? Should any of us believe your apology?  Should any of us respect you? Listen to you? Should we continue to watch you as you earn more than 95% of the population of Americans?  Can you help me understand why it is that the first offensive thing you thought to say was something homophobic?  Do we need to question your own sense of sexual orientation?  Are you trying to prove something?  When will it become completely unacceptable to yell ugly homophobic epithets? Click here to see the full story.