Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert issued an apology on Sunday for his “no homo” remarks that he made in a postgame interview on Saturday night after his Indiana Pacers defeated the Miami Heat to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Hibbert said in a statement:
“I am apologizing for insensitive remarks made during the postgame press conference after our victory over Miami Saturday night. They were disrespectful and offensive and not a reflection of my personal views. I used a slang term that is not appropriate in any setting, private or public, and the language I used definitely has no place in a public forum, especially over live television. I apologize to those who I have offended, to our fans and to the Pacers’ organization. I sincerely have deep regret over my choice of words last night.”
The NBA may penalize–and at least fine–Hibbert for his remarks.
On Saturday, Hibbert said:
“I really felt that I let Paul down in terms of having his back when LeBron was scoring in the post or getting to the paint, because they stretched me out so much. No homo.”
“No homo” is a slang term used by men to indicate they are straight when showing affection for other males so there is no misunderstanding about their sexuality. Hibbert made his comments while he was talking about how he felt he had let Indiana teammate Paul George down during parts of the game by not erasing some of his mistakes when LeBron James drove past George. There appeared to be no malicious intent in Hibbert’s remarks.
Hibbert reached out to Jason Collins on Twitter after he made his comments on live television. When Collins came out last month, Hibbert publicly supported Collins in remarks to the Journal Courier:
“I have no problem with openly gay men. More power to them. We live in a day in age where people are more accepting as opposed to years ago. Him and his family may have some adversity in the coming days and weeks, but I have no problem with it.”
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