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Also, another anti-gay slur in the NBA. This is "Joaquim" Noah.
Louis: Joakim. Joakim.
David: Is that the way it's said?
Natan: Yeah.
Louis: Yeah.
David: However he says his name, I've never liked the guy. Let me put that out there.
Natan: Great player.
Louis: Yeah, it's pronounced Joakim.
David: What, he's good?
Natan: Oh, yeah, he's a great player.
David: Yeah, I can't stand him.
Louis: Only defensively. The dude... have you seen the guy shoot? It's ridiculous.
Natan: He's very good in the low post, though.
David: I've disliked him ever since he was in college. Anyway...
Louis: If you want a good laugh, look at his-- look at him shoot.
David: He got into early foul trouble in game three of the playoff series against the Heat,
picked up two fouls in the first quarter, he sat down on the Bulls' bench and then lashed
out at a heckling fan, and you didn't have to be an expert to read his lips to figure
out what he was saying. Similar to Kobe Bryant, with the camera right on him. NBA responded
by fining him $50,000.
And then his follow-up statement was brilliant: "You know, all my best friends live downtown
in New York City. I was made in SoHo. Sometimes when you're at this level, you don't realize
the consequences or how much a word can bother people. My mom's best friend was gay. We used
to call him "Mom". So I'm disappointed, because that's not me. I didn't mean to harm anybody.
I don't want anyone to feel disrespected by what I said, and I understand that's what's
going to happen."
You know, he actually... he doesn't seem insincere when he says this. I think that there's...
it's similar to Kobe Bryant, where he wasn't actually saying-- this doesn't excuse it,
but he wasn't actually accusing someone of being gay and implying that being gay is bad,
but the word itself is unacceptable. I completely get it.
Louis: Yeah, but we... but we know... I mean, most people know and realize that it's just
part of the culture. If you and your friends grow up saying it to each other jokingly,
I mean, sometimes it can just come out, and it doesn't mean that you're a homophobe.
David: No, it doesn't mean that he's homophobic, but just the use of the word itself is just
not acceptable, the same way that the N-word for black people is not acceptable even if
it's not actually a black person, even if you don't think negatively about black people.
Louis: Right. Right, and of course... yeah. Of course someone in his position should try
to not use it.
David: Right.
Natan: I think the way to describe this is that this was an anti-gay incident, but "Joaquim"
Noah doesn't appear to be anti-gay. So it's like saying the words at... just at all is
something that shouldn't happen, but that doesn't mean that the person who uses it necessarily
actually has anti-gay sentiments of any sort.
David: No, yeah. That's true.
Louis: Right, right.
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