After the controversial end to the game between Charlotte and Milwaukee this Saturday, which ended in favor of the Hornets, LaMelo Ball was interviewed on court and said something that was later called out by the fans and the NBA itself, who fined the young guard with a historic fine.
What were his awful remarks? “No homo,” he told reporter Shannon Spake when she asked about the squad’s defensive strategy against rival star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the matches’s last play, which gave them their game-winning free throws.
After the NBA handed the player his fine, Hornets coach Charles Lee defended LaMelo by saying he is very apologetic” about the whole situation. The league described his words as “an offensive and derogatory comment,” which also sparked many comments on social media.
NBA STOP INTERVIEWING THESE YNS RIGHT AFTER THE GAME. LAMELO BALL HAS NO FILTER 😂😂🤣
“We loaded up…no homo”
pic.twitter.com/u0dhNLkiLo
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) November 16, 2024
By the time they were about to play Cleveland on Sunday, the 23-year-old had already heard about the penalization. This is why Lee started his pre-game media session by addressing the incident and even went out to say how he’d already Ball about this behaviour.
“As an organization that is obviously not something we condone,” the tactician explained. “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.”
Charles guarantees that his athlete has no problem with homosexuality. “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 expressed. “He and I talked about the seriousness of the situation and how he needs to conduct himself going forward.”
“He understands what’s going to be expected of him,” the coach kept at it. “I look forward to seeing him grow from this moment, but I wanted to start off by saying that we apologise for what happened.”
Even though Ball wasn’t available to reporters at that time, Lee said Ball would keep his word. “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.”
Rival coach Doc Rivers was also fined that night for calling out officials over crucial call that eventually led to Hornets’ win
Even though Doc Rivers was probably right, the NBA doesn’t seem to mind. After the Bucks coach criticized referees for a blown call that ended up giving Charlotte the game-winning free throws to win Saturday’s match against Milwaukee, the league decided to fine the veteran tactician.
The call occurred with 7.1 seconds to the final buzzer with the Wisconsin club holding a 114-113 lead this weekend, when LaMelo Ball tripped and fell while running towards the basket. The officials decided that Giannis Antetokounmpo had fouled the Hornets star, even though it seemed not to be the case.
“I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call,” Rivers told the press, which was the reason he received a $25,000 fine. “This is back-to-back games now where on the final play there has been an incorrect call made.”
Rivers then added: “LaMelo Ball fell. He just fell down. Nobody was near him. He slipped on his own. We come up with the ball and the game is over. So back-to-back games now we have had a call made against us that is incorrect. We were lucky in Detroit the kid missed two free throws. Tonight LaMelo Ball made the free throws.”
