Comments on: Kobe Bryant may have used a gay slur

By: BlackSuperman543259

BlackSuperman543259 — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 19:32:35 +0000

Congrats… we are now in a feminized democracy where you can no longer say what’s on your mind… who gives a flying f**k if Kobe called that ref a f**king f@g… Magic Johnson did worse to the zebras back in the day, and nobody does nothing but sing praise to Magic whenever his name is mentioned… This mind-control bulls**t is out of control, and it’s stupid. If the man said it, he said it. But that don’t mean you gotta put him on blast, fine him, and try to make an example of him… the NBA is a shell of what it used to be…

By: carmacarcounselor

carmacarcounselor — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 03:43:07 +0000

You are making an argument for the sake of argument. I suspect you know the answer before I give it. The distinction is simple. Words like f**k and sh*t are not attached to specific groups of people. They do not single out a person as a member of a group for ridicule or hate. Moreover, a comedian or a comedy writer using words like that are doing it for a socially responsible reason, to make a statement regarding its use. (Whether you agree with their point is not the issue.) If you really watch Family Guy and haven’t figured that out, you are missing the whole point of the show. Kobe was not making a social statement. He was just venting his anger. There are lots of words he could have used that would not have been hurtful to some group. The generic one is as*ho*e. that’s not hurtful to you unless you are one, in which case deal with it, as*ho*e.

By: fantasticoquattro

fantasticoquattro — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:21:00 +0000

That is a poor argument, carmacarcounselor.

Why is it okay to use certain offensive words(f**k,, sh*t), but not others(slurs)? Who gets to determine that? Both are words that offend people, yet people who use the former are defended by liberals while those who uise the latter are pillored. It is a glaring inconsistency.

I’ll never understand how people can laud a Lenny Bruce or George Carlin or who enjoy a Family Guy, can seriously assail Byrant or anyone who uses a slur. A slur or a cussword are both deeply offensive to people. So why then are they treated differently?

By: carmacarcounselor

carmacarcounselor — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:27:55 +0000

The “right” to be homophobic? What does that mean? Rights apply to behavior. A person may have the right to think however he or she believes. But if that person acts on that belief in a way that harms others, that is unacceptable. So yes, we DO have the right to control what he says. It is true that in time some derogatory terms become less so. That is totally beside the point if that time has not arrived. No one is arguing that when Kobe called the ref a fu**ing fa**ot he meant a piece of firewood engaged in sexual intercourse, nor that anyone believes he was. We all know what the word means now, and it is harmful to others. Therefore it is rightfully condemned.

By: ump75

ump75 — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 06:00:32 +0000

Heat of passion my A–! I am real tired of the “…oh I’m a star so it’s ok to…” It is damn time they start towing the line!

By: dragonbloop

dragonbloop — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:51:50 +0000

This is the most biased news issue I have seen in a while. Personally, I support the gay rights movement, but that doesn’t mean everyone has to. Kobe Bryant has every right to be against homosexuality as long as his expression of this dislike remains in legal means. We have no right to control how he feels or what he says; freedom of speech is a right granted to us and emotional restriction is impossible. Furthermore, words are what you empower them to be. The term faggot originally referred to cigarettes or lit sticks, our society empowered it to be a degrading term, and we can just as easily empower it not to be. Next time you write an article, try to show some journalistic professionalism and try to begin your article without the assumption that people have no right to be homophobic.

By: borderline1988

borderline1988 — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:25:00 +0000

Kobe, nor any other overpaid, egotistical athlete, have any problem with being considered ‘role models’ when it comes to, say, selling shoes.

That was the same problem I had with Tiger. He pleaded for privacy with regards to his situation and family, and many people argued that it’s none of our business what he does at home or what he really stands for.
But get real. The dude made almost a billion dollars off his fans via advertisements and corporate representation. He had no problem being a role model for professionalism when he sold watches. He had no problem having his face plastered all over America with the word ‘family man’ as a caption, next to an Accenture ad.

The argument that athletes are just athletes, and not role models, is bogus. Kobe only agrees to being labeled a role model when he’s paid to do it, and when the ad ascribes to him a positive quality.

By: keniskenlen

keniskenlen — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:12:45 +0000

Aren’t you doing the same thing in telling Krolik what he should or should not write about?

By: keniskenlen

keniskenlen — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 02:54:20 +0000

I’ll be sure to shed a tear for oppressed white men everywhere…

By: chris woolford

chris woolford — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:12:42 +0000

Here, here John. Good article.

By: slopmcflop

slopmcflop — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:56:05 +0000

Nice! You got the joke.

By: drop703

drop703 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:04:44 +0000

Wow @ Kobe being a bigot….Yes he made a mistake, but really? IMO, he wasn’t actually questioning the ref’s sexual preferences or accusing him of being homosexual. He was upset and said something he shouldn’t have. @youravgjoe42…Who truly knows if Kobe thinks being gay is an insult. In society, a lot straight men are ridiculed by being too pretty or metrosexual, or acting like a woman in a certain situations, etc…so you heard a lot of men call men they perceived as such the “B” word. Certainly, that’s not as hurtful as being called the “F” word but I think he meant it in the same context.

Now…@wallybird1234 I agree with you to a certain extent but in no way are the two words/races/similar…you sound like you know history pretty well. You definitely don’t want to realistic compare the two do you?

By: purnellmeagrejr

purnellmeagrejr — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:41:40 +0000

jstrizzle Of course the issue is Kobe – it’s like blaming bullets for murders instead of the wielder of the weapon – at best you could say Kobe is a jerk but so are a lot of other athletes.

By: lbcdeeznutz

lbcdeeznutz — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:35:14 +0000

It is about time we normies take the word gay back. It means happy okay. It is an insult to happiness that the LGBT community uses it to exclude regular people from being happy.

By: spiffvanslick

spiffvanslick — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:27:30 +0000

so why are these guys idolized? just goes to show, especially in Kobe’s case, being a great athelete doesn’t make him a great man.

By: youravgjoe42

youravgjoe42 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:26:12 +0000

I largely agree with many of the sentiments expressed in this article. Its a shame that to Kobe being gay is an insult. Its hurtful to people who are gay that many people feel that way. I know of very few people who would lift a finger to speak up for equal treatment of gays who throw around gay slurs casually. I too have no idea if Kobe harbors any true animosity towards gay people, but he certainly placed opened up the door to questions regarding his views on this topic out with his casual and public shouting of the slur. He deserves the criticism that results from that language, and has daily opportunities to speak out positively on the issue if he feels that the usage of the slur misrepresents his actual feelings on the treatment of gay men and women. I guess time will tell.

By: lbcdeeznutz

lbcdeeznutz — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:18:44 +0000

Your comment is an insult to the real f word!

By: whatthe1111

whatthe1111 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:03:04 +0000

uuuuhhhhhh….. dude you just wrote a slur directed to who are mentally handicapped

By: seanb20124

seanb20124 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:57:26 +0000

OMG!! He used the F word

By: wallybird1234

wallybird1234 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:50:59 +0000

You are only partially right. Except, your forgot to note that gays have been oppressed for as long as African Americans (longer, actually), and in fact, gays do not currently have all of the legal rights as blacks (e.g., marriage equality, employment opportunities and protection, adoption rights, property ownership and transfer, healthcare decisions, hundreds of tax benefits, just to name a few).

In other words, gays/lesbians remain THE sole, lone, ONLY group of law abiding – tax paying citizens that are legally discriminated against. The fact is, it is NOT “easier to absorb” that a group of people (blacks, like Kobe) who once HAD BEEN legally discriminated against, yet now have all of their legal rights, use a slur referring to the ONLY group of Americans still without all their rights and protections under the constitution. A black person using the “F” words is particularly egregious in view of their own past. He’s a bigot, ’nuff said.

By: lbcdeeznutz

lbcdeeznutz — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:47:32 +0000

w h a t i f i n d q u e e r i s t h a t y o u b r i n g u p h i s p e n i s i n a n a r t i c l e a b o u t h o m o s e x u a l s. H m m m m m !

By: drop703

drop703 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:29:28 +0000

Please stop comparing the N word to what Kobe said. Yes, calling the ref a homosexual slur was wrong but the “N” word has oppressed and impacted the lives of african-americans for over 100 years. Calling someone the “F” word is definitely an insult, but IMO much easier to absorb than the latter.

By: lbcdeeznutz

lbcdeeznutz — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:11:50 +0000

maybe he was just calling the ref a british cigarette?

By: cerow

cerow — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Actually he calls himself the black mamba because the snake is the deadliest in the world..Strikes with 98% accuracy. Which translate to..He is a killer on the court and strikes his opponents with high accuracy. Put these two things together and your last post, and you sound like an idiot!

By: hollywood26

hollywood26 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:42:14 +0000

Actually you are reaching a bit. He calls himself Black Mamba because it is the DEADLIEST animal in the world. He saw it on Discovery and got obsessed. You sound a little like you are projecting here pal.

By: vswho

vswho — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:13:54 +0000

the truth of the matter is that calling something “g@y” can have nothing to do w/their sexual orientation. but to try and tie Kobe calling a ref or the call the ref made g@y into an article about suicidal teens & depression is just trying way too hard & reaching for a story. i agree that prejudice is prejudice and bigotry is bigotry but Kobe’s comment had nothing to do with the ref’s sexual orientation. maybe in the future you’d rather Kobe just call the ref a b***h?

can we get to some real news now please? thanks.

By: jstrizzle

jstrizzle — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:05:37 +0000

Not sure why this is getting so many thumbs down. Maybe because it slightly hinted at the fact that Kobe could be ignorant. Was not trying to make that point and don’t necessarily believe that.

By: starks3

starks3 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:29:40 +0000

To further my point, would we then say we don’t think Kevin Love is a racist, he was just angry and called the white ref a N******??

By: starks3

starks3 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:27:14 +0000

A slur is a slur. You can’t make a slur when your not from the demographic from which the slur is said.
If Richard Hatch says F****** on Apprentice it is okay because he has come out and said he is a homosexual.

Look at it this way, what if Kevin Love said a white referee is a N*****? Would that be okay?? To me there is no difference between what Kobe said vs. my hypothetical of a white player calling a ref the N word.

By: jsarge99

jsarge99 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:13:45 +0000

The use of homosexual slurs is retarded!