NBA players tend to be such drama queens and they are often stereotyped as gangster-like type of people because of their aggressive and intimidating behavior. This time it was Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant who was fined $100,000 by the NBA on midway through this week for a gay slur at a referee that Commissioner David Stern called “offensive and inexcusable.” Basketball scores.

After getting a technical foul through Tuesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant stormed to the bench, smacked his seat before he sat down, threw a towel and then yelled “Bennie!” toward referee Bernie Adams. Bryant then leaned back and mumbled some homophobic words.

The scene was caught on national telecast, making announcer Steve Kerr to say: “You might wanna take the cameras off of him right now, for the children watching from home.”

Bryant reported an announcement Wednesday afternoon: “What I said last night should not be taken literally,” he said. “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.” Basketball odds.

Bryant called the referee he insulted Wednesday before the Lakers’ game at Sacramento to apologize and express regret. “I applaud Kobe Bryant for his swift apology,” the victim said in declarations. “We had a very sincere conversation in which he expressed his heartfelt regret for the hurt that his words caused.”

If Bryant had gotten another technical in the Lakers’ season finale at Sacramento on Wednesday night, he would have been suspended for the first game of next season… but fortunately for him, not for a playoff game.

Since the 2005-06 season, Kobe Bryant has ranked in the top 10 for technical fouls each season. He’s been in the top four in five of those six seasons and led the league in 2007-08. He’s averaging 14 per season during that span. Basketball spreads.

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