Amar’e Stoudemire was fined $50,000 Tuesday for using “offensive and derogatory language in a Twitter message.”
“I am a huge supporter of civil rights for all people,” Stoudemire said in a statement. “I am disappointed in myself for my statement to a fan. I should have know better and there is no excuse.”
In a direct message sent to @BFerrelli, Stoudemire used a gay slur, saying “F#&# you. I don’t have to do anything, F#@.”
The sender, who identified himself as 19 years old on his Twitter account, had sent Stoudemire a public Twitter message, urging him to “come back a lot stronger and quicker to make up for this past season” and closed the message with, “mannnnnn deadasss!!!”
The next day, Stoudemire sent a DM apologizing: “I apologize for what I said earlier. I just got off the plane and had time to think about it. Sorry bro!! No Excuses. Won’t happen again.”
The recipient published screen shots of both messages and his interactions with Stoudemire.
This is the second time in recent months that Stoudemire has made news for all the wrong reasons.
During the NBA playoffs, he punched a glass-encased fire extinguisher after Game 2 in Miami, severely lacerating his hand and causing him to miss Game 3. The Knicks lost in five games to the eventual NBA champion Heat.
