After Los Angeles Laker guard Kobe Bryant directed an antigay slur at a referee last week, the NBA fined him $100,000.  Then Bryant apologized, saying his words should not have been taken literally.  But he would appeal the fine. 

A gay former-NBA player named John Amaechi has responded in the New York Times, and his response can be found at  http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/a-gay-former-player-responds-to-kobe-bryant/?ref=todayspaper.  He writes that young people in America “are being killed or killing themselves simply because of the words and behaviors they are subjected to for being perceived as lesbian or gay, or frankly, just different.”   For more, go to the NY Times website above.