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Tim BontempsESPN
The Minnesota Timberwolves said in a statement Monday they were “disappointed” in guard Anthony Edwards for anti-gay comments he made in an Instagram video over the weekend.
“We are disappointed in the language and actions Anthony Edwards displayed on social media,” the team said in a statement attributed to team president Tim Connelly that was released Monday. “The Timberwolves are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming organization for all and apologize for the offense this has caused to so many.”
Edwards himself apologized for the video Sunday afternoon after it had circulated on social media.
“What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry,” Edwards said in a tweet posted mid-Sunday afternoon. “It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!”
What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!
— Anthony Edwards (@theantedwards_) September 11, 2022
In the video, which has since been deleted, Edwards took a video of a group of people standing on a sidewalk from inside the car, and he used an anti-gay comment to describe them.
An NBA spokesperson said the league is reviewing the matter.
The NBA has handed out fines for the use of anti-gay language in the past, including a $50,000 fine to Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant last year for using “offensive and derogatory” language on social media, a $25,000 fine to Nikola Jokic for a comment he made during a postgame interview in 2018, and a $100,000 fine to Kobe Bryant for yelling an anti-gay slur at a referee in 2011.