NBA’s Cam Thomas Fined $40K for ‘No Homo’ Comment

Even though Cam Thomas of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets has apologized for making an antigay comment after the Nets’ win over the Chicago Bulls last week, the pro-basketball player is still being fined $40,000.

According to ESPN, Thomas and Spencer Dinwiddie, whom the Nets just acquired in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, were being interviewed by TNT sports reporter Jared Greenberg after the game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Dinwiddie made a humorous comment earlier in the week in which he said that he and another newly added Nets teammate were the best-looking new members added to the team.

“And the Nets needed some help in that department,” he added.

When Greenberg asked Thomas if he had seen any coverage about Dinwiddie’s comment, Thomas replied, “I seen it, but I was like, ‘He just talking.’ We already had good-looking dudes, no homo.”

Cam Thomas: "We already had good looking guys, no homo."pic.twitter.com/2SAsuq36EX

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 10, 2023

“No homo,” is a slang expression added at the end of sentences to defend its speaker against accusations of expressing homosexual desire, according to linguistics scholar Nic Subtirelu. While “no homo” is sometimes said as a joke, it also “positions homosexuality and gay men as inferior to heterosexuality or heterosexual men (and)… represents homosexuality as socially undesirable,”

Thomas quickly tweeted an apology saying, “I want to apologize for the insensitive word I used in the postgame interview. I was excited about the win and was being playful. I definitely didn’t intend to offend anyone, but realize that I probably did. My apologies again. Much love.”

“As apologies go, it’s better than most, but his ‘no homo’ comment was still offensive, and uttering it shows how front-of-mind it was, lest someone think complimenting another man’s look was somehow gay,” Jim Buzinski notes on Outsports.

Unfortunately, a simple apology did not get Thomas off the hook. The following day, NBA’s executive Vice President and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars, announced a $40,000 fine against Thomas for “using derogatory and disparaging language during a live television interview.”

This isn’t the first time the NBA has fined a player for uttering a phrase.

Several other NBA players have been fined over the years for using homophobic language, including Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant of the Nets, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and the late Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.