Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball was fined $100,000 by the NBA for an anti-gay remark he made throughout his postgame interview.
The Hornets upset the Milwaukee Bucks, 115-114, as Ball hit the game-winning free throws on Saturday.
However when he mentioned that final play of the sport, the place teammate Grant Williams defended Giannis Antetokounmpo’s last-ditch effort for the win, Ball dropped an anti-gay remark throughout his clarification.
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“We loaded up,” Ball stated, including the phrase “no homo” with a lowered voice into the microphone earlier than persevering with to speak.
Ball completed the sport with a team-high 26 factors together with 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
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The NBA launched an announcement on Ball’s nice, saying he made “an offensive and derogatory remark” throughout his interview.
Ball has been having a profession 12 months to this point this season, averaging near 30 factors per recreation (29.6) whereas dispensing 6.3 assists and hauling in 5.3 rebounds via 12 video games.
The 2020 Rookie of the Yr is hoping that this season is the one he can keep on the court docket full time; he has handled quite a few accidents over the previous three seasons.
Actually, Ball’s highest video games performed complete because the 2022-2023 marketing campaign is 36.
“He’s just like the engine for us,” Charles Lee, the Hornets’ head coach, stated in October. “If we’ve got a wholesome LaMelo Ball, we’re going to do numerous actually good issues as a result of I do know that he’s going to proceed to develop, and he helps everybody round him proceed to be higher, too.”
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Whereas Ball was fined, he isn’t anticipated to be suspended for his feedback after Saturday’s win.
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