NBA fines Anthony Edwards $40,000 on Tuesday for homophobic comments that he made on social media earlier this month.
Edwards used homophobic and derogatory language to describe a group of people he was filming as they stood on a sidewalk. He published this video to his more than 1m followers Instagram account, which circulated online this month, and the video has since been deleted from his account.
Edward later apologized for the post on Sept. 11 from his Twitter account. He tweeted last week, What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, and there’s no excuse for it at all. I was raised better than that!” he said.
NBA fined Edwards for using offensive and derogatory language on social media, and the fine falls somewhat in line with similar offensive comments made in the past by NBA players.
In the past NBA had punished Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Kobe Bryant, and Rajon Rondo for homophobic language.
Edward is one of the league’s rising stars and was Minnesota’s second-leading scorer last season. Last season, he averaged 21.3 points per game, ranked 19th in the league. He also averaged 1.5 steals, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, released a statement on Sept. 12, in which he said he was disappointed in Edwards’ actions.
Connelly said, The Timberwolves are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming organization for all and apologize for the offense this has caused to so many.
