Rashad Butler apologizes for Twitter slur

HOUSTON, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Houston Texans reserve tackle Rashad Butler says he's sorry for using a homophobic slur Thursday night on Twitter.
The Houston Chronicle said Butler was watching a basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks. He tweeted a comment about Kobe Bryant, referring to the Lakers' star as No. 8 and was quickly corrected by Twitter critics because Bryant has changed to No. 24. The tweet, a response to a friendly discussion with Lakers fans about Kobe Bryant, contained a gay slur that some followers found offensive.

Butler shot back with what is considered a gay slur. "Like I said, Y'all (expletive) knew wat I meant," he tweeted. The newspaper speculated that Butler intended to call his critics "jerks."

Butler quickly deleted the tweet and eventually issued an apology, "I Apologize ONCE AGAIN for the tweet I sent earlier. Didn't mean to offend anybody." He later tweeted, "ppl getting killed everyday but ppl want to worry about a word I used to get some ignorant .. ppl on twitter off my back."

Human Rights Campaign said Butler and other athletes, including the American Hockey League's Justin Fontaine who got in trouble for a Twitter slur earlier this month, "don't seem to grasp the idea that spreading this hateful message can perpetuate hate and discrimination toward the LGBT community."


(upi.com)