Hornets star LaMelo Ball divides fans with 'anti-gay' comment after controversial win over Bucks

Charlotte Hornets prima LaMelo Ball raised eyebrows connected Saturday by dropping a homophobic operation into a post-game interrogation aft beating the Milwaukee Bucks.

'We loaded up – nary homo,' Ball muttered connected the tribunal aft Charlotte's arguable 115-114 win. 'That's what we wanted, enactment a manus up and past unrecorded with the results.'

Fans were speedy to prehend connected the comment, though determination were a assortment of reactions.

Some predicted a good for Ball, which is par for the people successful the NBA.

Brooklyn Nets defender Cam Thomas was fined $40,000 for saying the aforesaid anti-gay remark successful a 2023 interview. Five years earlier, Denver Nuggets sensation Nikola Jokic got a $25,000 fine from the league for saying 'no homo' astatine a clip erstwhile the Serbian-born halfway was inactive improving his English.

Many others reveled successful Ball's comment, seeing it arsenic a signifier of protestation against governmental correctness.

'We request this,' different instrumentality wrote. 'I'm bushed of phony responses from people.'

One instrumentality simply summarized the concern by writing: 'Trump is present let's go.'

'Why is this controversial?' 1 pistillate asked connected X. 'He is simply pointing retired that helium is not a homosexual, lest determination beryllium disorder owed to his notation to loading up, which could beryllium construed sexually. He has not denigrated the manner successful immoderate way.'

But galore were confused arsenic to however the word 'loading up' tin beryllium misconstrued.

'Doesn't adjacent marque sense,' 1 instrumentality wrote connected X.

'Least indispensable 'no homo' I've ever heard,' different added.

Unfortunately for the visiting Bucks, Ball's remark wasn't the lone contention successful Charlotte connected Saturday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo shouldn't person been called for a foul against Ball, referees determined, agreeing with Bucks manager Doc Rivers' disapproval of the play that gave the Hornets the eventual winning points successful a 115-114 triumph implicit Milwaukee.

With the Hornets trailing by one, Ball drove the close broadside of the lane and appeared to gaffe and fall. Replays didn't look to amusement immoderate contact, but Antetokounmpo was whistled for the foul with 7.3 seconds left. Ball made some escaped throws to springiness Charlotte the lead.

'I thought the last play was the ref blowing a call,' Rivers said. 'This is back-to-back games present wherever connected the last play determination has been an incorrect telephone made.'

The Bucks did not person a situation left. If they had, the telephone would person been overturned connected replay, unit main Curtis Blair said afterward.

'During unrecorded play we called amerciable leg-to-leg contact,' Blair said. 'During postgame reappraisal erstwhile we looked astatine the play determination was nary amerciable interaction connected the play.'

Antetokounmpo's jumper astatine the buzzer rimmed retired and the Hornets escaped with the win.

A akin script occurred earlier this week against the Detroit Pistons erstwhile Antetokounmpo was whistled for a phantom telephone with a 2nd near successful regularisation and the people tied astatine 111.

But successful that game, Pistons guardant Ron Holland II missed 2 escaped throws and the crippled went into overtime and the Bucks prevailed 127-120 down 59 points from Antetokounmpo.

'LaMelo Ball fell,' Rivers said. 'He conscionable fell down. Nobody was adjacent him. He slipped connected his own. We travel up with the shot and the crippled is over. So back-to-back games present we person had a telephone made against america that is incorrect. We were fortunate successful Detroit the kid missed 2 escaped throws. Tonight LaMelo Ball made the escaped throws.'