It was a tasteless thing to say.
But if KG has to apologize, every player who has ever talked trash needs to apologize. Even if they didn't use the magic word "cancer," most players who talk trash have used a racial slur, made a misogynistic comment, and/or said something homophobic. After all, it's called trash talk, not polite conversation.
And every columnist, blogger, and fan who has ever said Iverson/T.O./Marbury/whomever "is a locker room cancer" needs to apologize as well. And they need to apologize more profusely than KG, who after all didn't make his comment expecting it to be repeated outside the lines.
I'm not arguing that the comment was classy or that KG is a saint.
But I hate the way so many-- looking at you, Around the Horn folks-- are clutching their pearls over the "you're a cancer phrase" when KG says it, after having turned a blind eye toward it for years.
If there's a new rule, there's a new rule. But if it's going to be enforced retroactively on KG, it needs to be enforced retroactively on everyone.