*Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has apologized for using homophobic and misogynistic language during a private exchange with Michael Rapaport on social media that the actor made public.
Earlier this week, Rapaport tweeted screenshots of direct messages he received from Durant that has generated fierce backlash against the NBA star.
“I’m sorry that people seen that language I used,” Durant said to reporters on Thursday, ESPN reported. “That’s not really what I want people to see and hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out there on the floor.”
This all started back in December when Durant’s one-word answer to “Inside the NBA” analyst Charles Barkley sparked a reaction that made Barkley go viral.
Rappaport responded on Twitter: “[Durant] seemed deeply in his feeling with the @NBAonTNT crew after the game. DAMNIT he’s super sensitive about everything. Don’t do the interview.”
Durant responded by sending Rapaport a private message calling him a “b**ch” and other choice words. He also challenged the actor to a fight, going as far as asking for his address, according to the screengrabs.
“I receive threats and disgusting messages DAILY, but never in my wildest dreams did I think [Durant] would be among them,” 51-year-old Rapaport wrote in tweet including screenshots of the purported exchange. “The [snake emoji] himself is now threatening me, bringing up my wife and wants to fight. This is supposed to be America’s sweetheart right?” he added.
Here’s that tweet, along with screenshot’s of Durant’s DMs:
I receive threats and disgusting messages DAILY, but never in my wildest dreams did I think @KDTrey5 would be among them. The ???? himself is now threatening me, bringing up my wife and wants to fight. This is supposed to be America’s sweetheart right? #ImDaRealMVP pic.twitter.com/l1VQfGMMRF
— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) March 30, 2021
In a follow-up message, Durant accused Rapaport of deleting messages from the exchange before posting them publicly. The actor seemingly admitted to editing the thread in a subsequent tweet. He also said that he had told Durant he would “break his f**king jaw,” and called him a “b**ch” in return.
Folks on social media did not appreciate Durant’s language, calling it “homophobic.” The
“We need the most prominent voices in the sport to start acknowledging us, to stop talking down to us, to realize that we’re just as valid as the rest,” one user wrote.
Outkick’s Clay Travis wrote: “The NBA made Donald Sterling sell his team for racist comments made in a private conversation. They set the precedent that private conversations are actionable when they go public. The same standard should apply for Kevin Durant’s DMs. Why isn’t it being applied?”
In another exchange Wednesday, Durant commented “my bad I apologize” underneath Rapaport’s post on Instagram, adding that he would “never fight Mike.”
Rapaport continued to discuss the situation in Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, I Am Rapaport, reading out more of the conversation but also using misogynistic language when referencing Durant. Rapaport called Durant “very sensitive,” and said he was acting “like he had his period.”
Of course, sports media had lots and LOTS of thoughts on the matter:
Skiilp!
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