Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball received a $100,000 fine on Sunday for making an “offensive and derogatory comment” during a postgame interview on Saturday night.
The NBA announced the maximum fine under the current collective bargaining agreement for Ball’s use of an anti-gay term during an on-court interview.
Hornets coach Charles Lee stated that Ball was “very apologetic” and emphasized that such behavior is not condoned by the organization.
“I spoke to ‘Melo and he’s obviously very apologetic. 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 and I talked about the seriousness of the situation and how he needs to conduct himself going forward.”
Following the Hornets’ victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, Ball used the offensive term when discussing the team’s defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo on the final play of the game.
“He understands what’s going to be expected of him,” Lee said. “I look forward to seeing him grow from this moment, but I wanted to start off by saying that we apologize for what happened … 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.
Despite the incident, Ball had an impressive performance with 26 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in the game. The Hornets improved to a 5-7 record for the season.
The team will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in their next game, starting a quick two-game road trip.