Charlotte Hornets superstar LaMelo Ball was fined $100,000 by the NBA this past weekend and for good reason. Following a game, Ball said the term "no homo." Overall, a simple "pause" probably would have sufficed. However, he ended up taking it way too far. Although there were plenty of fans who were not offended, the league has to protect its image. Consequently, they came through with a well-deserved fine.
Following the fine, Hornets head coach Charles Lee spoke out on what happened. As he explains, LaMelo is very apologetic. "As an organization, that's obviously not something that we condone. Our standards and what is required of our players in our environment that we create is really important to us," Lee said. "I spoke to Melo and he's obviously very apologetic from what I've seen since I've been around him. He loves everyone and he's a joy to have around in the facility, and that's not typically how he operates."
LaMelo Ball Made A Big Mistake
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🎙️ Charles Lee on LaMelo Ball's fine:
"As an organization, that's obviously not something that we condone. Our standards and what is required of our players in our environment that we create is really important to us."
"I spoke to Melo and he's obviously very apologetic from… pic.twitter.com/3vBImWBWt5
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"He and I talked about the seriousness of the situation and how he needs to conduct himself going forward, he understands what's going to be expected of him. I look forward to seeing him grow from this moment. We apologize for what happened,"Lee continued. "He and I talked about it and he definitely said, 'going forward, I want to be better and I don't want to see that happen.' So, for somebody to use those words and say it out of his mouth, we will make sure that we hold him accountable to that."
This is a teachable moment for LaMelo and we hope he learns from it. So far this season, he has been playing incredibly well. You never want to see a young player squander that because of a poor judgment call. Only time will tell whether or not Ball truly changes his ways.
[Via]