Report: NBA To Investigate Alleged Gay Slur On Twitter From Knicks' Stoudemire
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Knicks fans know Amar'e Stoudemire tweets under the handle @Amareisreal.
Maybe he should consider changing it to @Amareisrealmean after allegedly hurling an anti-gay slur at a critical fan this weekend in a direct Twitter message.
It started Saturday morning, when fan Brian Ferrelli tweeted the following to Stoudemire: "You better come back a lot stronger and quicker to make up for this past season mannnnnn dead(butt)!!!"
"(Expletive) you," Stoudemire reportedly replied in a direct message, seen only to the recipient. "I don't have to do anything (slur)."
Ferrelli shared a screencap of the alleged message with the popular sports site Deadspin. Stoudemire later apologized to the fan and promised it "won't happen again," Deadspin reported.
But the damage was done.
The NBA "plans to look into the authenticity" of the message, according to the New York Post. A source told the New York Daily News that the forward "made a big mistake, and he wishes he could take the whole thing back."
"It's known that the F-word is very offensive," actor George Takei told the Daily News from Sunday's gay pride parade. "I'm glad he realizes what he did. He made a public fool of himself."
It seems Ferrelli, who boasts a large Knicks logo as his Twitter page background, doesn't want much more made of the situation.
"If your role model tells you to (expletive) yourself and call you a (slur) I'm sure EVERYBODY would do the same (expletive) I did out of anger," Ferrelli tweeted Sunday.
He added: "Amar'e did his part out of anger then apologized and I did my part out of anger and I'm still a huge fan of him..everyone can shut up now."
Should Stoudemire be handed a hefty fine? Be heard in the comments below...
