UPDATE 3:
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divac have released statements:
UPDATE 2:
Rajon Rondo released a short statement on Twitter concerning his reported actions during a game on December 3:
UPDATE:
DeMarcus Cousins picked today of all days to cast a vote for Rajon Rondo for the NBA All-Star Game:
WELP.
See original story below.
Late Friday, Rajon Rondowas handed a one-game suspension by the NBA for “directing a derogatory and offensive term towards a game official” during a Kings/Celtics game in Mexico City on December 3. The NBA didn’t reveal exactly what Rondo said to the official, but at the time, no one seemed all that surprised by the suspension. Rondo carried on a lot that night and probably deserved it.
There’s a new twist to the story, though, thanks to a Yahoo! Sports report from Adrian Wojnarowski. Bill Kennedy, the referee who tossed Rondo from that game, just revealed that he is gay.
“I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man,” Kennedy told Yahoo! Sports yesterday. “I am following in the footsteps of others who have self-identified in the hopes that it will send a message to young men and women in sports that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are.”
And according to some reporting that Wojnarowski did, Rondo directed a gay slur towards Kennedy after getting tossed from the game against Boston by him.
“You’re a motherfucking faggot,” Rondo reportedly said, according to a report filed by the game's officials after the contest was over. “You’re a fucking faggot, Billy.”
Rondo declined to issue a comment to Yahoo! Sports when he was reached today. But assuming he did direct a slur towards Kennedy, he’s sadly not the first NBA player to get caught doing it. Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for directing a gay slur at a referee in 2011, and Joakim Noah was fined $50,000 for directing one at a fan that same season.
Stay tuned for additional details. Rondo is going to sit out of the Kings’ game against the Rockets tomorrow and lose about $86,000 as a result of his suspension.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via Yahoo! Sports]
