Joakim Noah fined $50K for using anti-gay slur from bench during Heat-Bulls Game 3

[YAWN]

If Kobe got fined, Noah deserves that same fine or worse because the league has just recently shown this is not acceptable behavior.

I'm all for freedom of speech, but that was just really inappropriate.

They just launched those awkward new "don't say gay" commercials too.

I doubt he gets the 100k kobe size fine though.

[tomtucker]

Seeing the game again, you will notice Noah says it several times to the fan, making sure he hears it.......not very smart

[markymark]

Flashing the camera

There's cameras all over the arena, capturing everything that goes on, all night long. If a player doesn't want to be shown doing something stupid, he can always refrain from doing something stupid.

What's stupid about cussing in the middle of a bball game?

This ain't pingpong brah.

[Scholar]

They didn't fine him because he's white and Kobe is black.

How are they supposed to fine Noah on the spot?

[JMT]

What's stupid about cussing in the middle of a bball game?

This ain't pingpong brah.

Is your understanding really that childish?

This wasn't a random expletive. Players cuss all the time. You don't direct it at officials, and you sure as hell don't direct it at paying customers.

[bluechox2]

so paying customers shud get fined also for instigating it
buying a ticket legally binds you to also act appropriately

[Dragonyeuw]

Being a paying customer doesn't give you the right to act like an ***hole either, assuming that the fan shouted something inappropriate. I can appreciate the whole 'I'm a customer paying your salary' argument, but there's something to be said for being decent as well. I've been to NBA games before, some fans act truly like F******k ***holes, and I guess because they're 'paying customers' and the whole 'my constitutional right of free speech' means they're free to be as much of a dick as humanly possible?

If the players are going to be subject to that much verbal abuse because of their proximity to courtside fans, then the NBA needs to do something to protect their players. You're talking high stakes, elite level sports competition with a TON on the line, emotions are at a fever pitch, and it's ok for fans to be as obscenely crude and asinine as they want because they paid for a ticket, and the players are supposed to switch off their emotions like they're robots? I'm not buying that one.

Note: I'm not saying all that in defense of Noah, he was wrong for saying it, but rowdy, obnoxious home fans jeering in an overboard fashion on opposing team players is a volatile situation. The table is being set for something to happen, and of course the media knows to zoom on on a player in the heat of a moment, hoping to catch something 'juicy' to make a huge issue out of it. Yeah I know, this is a part of sports for the home fans to jeer the opposition, but there's a point where people can cross the line, to where it becomes borderline abusive. I don't care if the fan paid or that the player is making millions, it's the principle of the matter.

On another note, where's the outcry from the gay community over this one, or are they:

1) Waiting for the NBA to act first, or

2) not making a big deal out of it because Joakim Noah isn't a highly visible figure like Kobe Bryant?

[KevinNYC]

The one where they are going against using gay slurs? Probably produced it at halftime to make sure he didn't get fined haha.

When the guy from the Suns came out, the article mentioned that the NBA was filming this the day before the Kobe incident. Just coincidence.

[MalikWadeCounty]

They need to stop flashing the camera on these guys as they walk to the bench. It's bullsh*t. Sports are emotional, and derogatory comments and slurs will be thrown around from time to time. I'm not a Noah fan, but it sucks that he's about to walk into a media on-slaught for something that should be kept off camerra.

this.

[Dragonyeuw]

Flashing the camera

There's cameras all over the arena, capturing everything that goes on, all night long. If a player doesn't want to be shown doing something stupid, he can always refrain from doing something stupid.

A camera was deliberately trained right on Noah, at the perfect moment after he sat with 2 fouls, and got involved with the fan. I have to think it's a deliberate attempt to catch the player in a 'weak' moment, makes for juicy sensationalist headlines the next day. Why didn't they just keep the camera on the on-court action? Nope,keep it on Noah who's obviously pissed, and let's hope he says something we can blow up into a huge story tomorrow. Unfortunately for Noah, he obliged, though I imagine in the heat of the moment, the player likely isn't thinking that a camera has him in a close-up situation, waiting for an outburst.

[niko]

He apologized to the league, the tv audience and the the fan he said the slur to personally. He should get a fine, and nothing more. Some of the ESPN talking heads are suggesting he should be suspended. Are they ****ing retarded (****)?

[OriginalNameGuy]

Don't care and don't think he should be fined. Screw ESPN for making a big deal out of it TMZ style

[JMT]

A camera was deliberately trained right on Noah, at the perfect moment after he sat with 2 fouls, and got involved with the fan. I have to think it's a deliberate attempt to catch the player in a 'weak' moment, makes for juicy sensationalist headlines the next day. Why didn't they just keep the camera on the on-court action? Nope,keep it on Noah who's obviously pissed, and let's hope he says something we can blow up into a huge story tomorrow. Unfortunately for Noah, he obliged, though I imagine in the heat of the moment, the player likely isn't thinking that a camera has him in a close-up situation, waiting for an outburst.

You really don't understand how televising a sporting event works, do you?

There are dozens of cameras, each assigned to different shots/coverage. One of those is the shot of the respective benches. The camera that was "deliberately trained" on Noah is the same one that shows shots of the bench throughout the game. It's always there, and every player knows it.

This isn't your chucker league at the Y. These are highly paid professionals who are counseled by the league on how to conduct themselves on and off the court. They're not innocent babes thrown to the wolves.

I like Noah and his intensity. But to try and place the blame on the media, the fan or anyone but him for his stupid action is even more immature than his action.

[bagelred]

Are they ****ing retarded (****)?

Is that rhetorical?

[JMT]

Being a paying customer doesn't give you the right to act like an ***hole either, assuming that the fan shouted something inappropriate. I can appreciate the whole 'I'm a customer paying your salary' argument, but there's something to be said for being decent as well. I've been to NBA games before, some fans act truly like F******k ***holes, and I guess because they're 'paying customers' and the whole 'my constitutional right of free speech' means they're free to be as much of a dick as humanly possible?

Note: I'm not saying all that in defense of Noah, he was wrong for saying it, but rowdy, obnoxious home fans jeering in an overboard fashion on opposing team players is a volatile situation. The table is being set for something to happen, and of course the media knows to zoom on on a player in the heat of a moment, hoping to catch something 'juicy' to make a huge issue out of it. Yeah I know, this is a part of sports for the home fans to jeer the opposition, but there's a point where people can cross the line, to where it becomes borderline abusive. I don't care if the fan paid or that the player is making millions, it's the principle of the matter.

Don't disagree that fans go overboard, but...within the parameters set forth on the back of the ticket...they pretty much do have the right to act like assholes. You and I can agree that it's not right, but it's the contract.

I haven't seen a single article that has said anything about what the fan did, if anything. And lets face it...just as the media wants to find something to hump, people are MORE than eager to insert themselves into the story. But nobody has yet.

He's a pro, and every pro athlete knows what comes with the territory. He blew it in this instance, and will certainly pay a pretty penny for his lapse in judgment.