These are astronomical fines Kobe 100k Noah 50K. How much for the S word or R word or F word or N word? By buckling under pressure of a powerful lobbying group, a bad precedence has been set by the league. It opened up flood gate for similar pressure. It would have been better had the NBA handled this matter internally instead of unleashing the wrath on the players. I wonder how the players' union feel about this? Clearly the media and the league offices could careless about the players welfare.
On a side note: Do gays even watch sports? Almost all of the sponsorship during games are geared to hetero-males.
Dude, your post (especially your last sentence) is pretty offensive. How could you ask a question like that? Geez.
As for the word, it is inherently derogatory. When people say the 'f' word, it doesn't really mean anything. It is just a bad word. In schools, I hear kids say the 'n' word fairly often, and although, that language certainly isn't appropriate, they are usually saying it in a friendly way (instead of 'dude' or 'man').
With all of the troubles that are going on (suicides, etc) with younger gay people, the last thing they need is for professional organizations to just let this stuff go. It is so freakin' hard growing up gay, and even though it is getting easier, it is only because people have become aware that this stuff needs to stop.
As a sidenote, I don't think Noah meant anything by it and his apology certainly seems sincere. The same goes for Kobe. It's just one of those things they have to take care of.