Kevin Durant Fined $50K for Homophobic, Misogynistic DMs with Michael Rapaport
The NBA announced Friday that it fined Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant $50,000 for using offensive and derogatory language on social media.
The fine is a result of homophobic and misogynistic language Durant used during an Instagram direct message exchange with actor Michael Rapaport.
Per CNN's Steven Poole, Durant addressed the messages when speaking to reporters Thursday, saying: "I'm sorry that people have seen the language I used. That's not what I want people to see or hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out there on the floor."
The issues between Durant and Rapoport began on Dec. 22 when Rapoport tweeted about KD after an interview Durant took part in with TNT:
On Tuesday, Rapoport tweeted screenshots of DMs (warning: contains homophobic, misogynistic and profane language) Durant sent him in response to his tweet about the interview.
Durant used multiple slurs and challenged Rapoport to a fight. He also threatened to "spit in [Rapoport's] face" the next time he sees him.
After Rapoport posted the screenshots, Durant claimed that he and Rapoport have tense exchanges on a regular basis:
Durant's social media activity has long been a topic of discussion because of his penchant for getting into arguments at times.
He also admitted to having a burner account, which he used to defend himself from criticism on social media.
The 32-year-old Durant is an 11-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, one-time NBA MVP, two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP in the midst of his first season with the Nets.
Durant signed with the Nets during the 2019 offseason but did not appear in a game last season while recovering from a torn Achilles.
KD has been highly productive when healthy this season, averaging 29.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest, but he has been limited to just 19 games because of injury.
Durant is currently out with a hamstring injury and has not appeared in a game since Feb. 13.
