Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball received a $100,000 fine by the NBA on Sunday for using “offensive and derogatory” speech after Saturday’s 115-114 win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA levied the maximum fine possible on Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball for using anti-gay term
Sideline reporter Shannon Spake asked Ball about the team’s defensive strategy against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the game’s final play, and Ball used an anti-gay term while delivering his answer.
“We loaded up, no homo. That’s what we wanted, put a hand up and then live with the results,” Ball said. The league levied the maximum fine possible on the five-year veteran.
The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/eBXmqGaExw
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 17, 2024
This is also the first fine of Ball’s career outside of the standard $2,000 fine that comes with any technical foul. Amid pushback on social media, Ball made his first comments since the fine was assessed.
“Before we get started, I just want to address the comment yesterday,” he told reporters. “I really didn’t mean anything [by it] and don’t want to offend anybody. I’ve got love for everybody, and I don’t discriminate.”
Ball is “very apologetic” and intends to learn from the behavior
Earlier Sunday, first-year Hornets head coach Charles Lee said he had spoken to Ball, who had been “very apologetic” and intended to learn from the behavior.
“As an organization, that is obviously not something we condone,” Lee said. “Our standards and what is required of our players in the environment we create is really important to us.
“I spoke to Melo and he’s obviously very apologetic. From what I’ve seen since I’ve been around him, he loves everyone. He’s a joy to have around the facility and it’s not typically how he operates. He and I talked about the seriousness of the situation and how he needs to conduct himself going forward.”
Charles Lee on LaMelo Ball’s fine:
“As an organization, that’s obviously not something that we condone. Our standards and what is required of our players in our environment that we create is really important to us.”
“I spoke to Melo and he’s obviously very apologetic from… pic.twitter.com/3vBImWBWt5
— /r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) November 17, 2024
Lee said he was confident Ball would keep his word to prevent this incident from reoccurring.
“He and I talked about it, and he definitely said going forward, ‘I’m going to be better,’ and I want to see that happen,” Lee said. “So for somebody to use those words and say that out of his mouth, we will make sure to hold him accountable to that.”
This is not the first time the NBA has fined a player for those exact words.
In 2023, Spencer Dinwiddie joked that the Brooklyn Nets got the “best-looking” players in their Kyrie Irving blockbuster trade. In response, Cam Thomas said that “we already had good-looking guys, no homo.” The NBA fined Thomas $40,000.
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