Knicks' Stoudemire Fined $50,000 For Twitter Slur, Apologizes
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- The NBA announced Tuesday it fined the Knicks' Amare Stoudemire $50,000 for using a slur in a Twitter direct message.
Stu Jackson, the league's executive vice president of basketball operations, announced the fine in a release, calling Stoudemire's language offensive and derogatory.
Stoudemire issued an apology in a statement Tuesday.
"I am a huge supporter of civil rights for all people," he said. "I am disappointed in myself for my statement to a fan. I should have known better and there is no excuse."
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.
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."
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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