Amar’e Stoudemire Apologizes For Anti-Gay Joke
Amar’e Stoudemire Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire apologized for making homophobic comments to an Israeli website, saying his remarks were “offensive” but meant to be “taken as jokes.”
“I want to apologize for my offensive comments against the LGBT community,” he said in a statement issued Wednesday evening. “These remarks were taken from a larger interview where a reporter was asking me hypothetical questions, and all my answers had a comedic undertone.”
In an interview with the Hebrew-language news site Walla posted Tuesday, Stoudemire, in a response caught on video, said: “I’m going to shower across the street, make sure my change of clothes are around the corner. And I’m going to drive — take a different route to the gym.”
Asked by the reporter if he were joking, Stoudemire replied that “there’s always a truth within a joke.”
In his statement, Stoudemire said, “The answers I gave were meant to be taken as jokes & I am deeply sorry for offending anyone.”
In 2012, Stoudemire was fined $50,000 by the NBA for using a gay slur on Twitter in response to a critical fan.
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