Swish: NBA calls foul on ‘gay’ as a slur

Bringing a little class to the NBA finals, thinkb4youspeak is running public service announcements during the games, with athletes, including Phoenix Suns star Grant Hill, letting sports fans know that saying “that’s so gay” or using words like “fag” and “queer” as pejoratives is just not OK.

The GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) Sports Project is working with high schools and high school athletes around the country to educate kids on showing respect toward people of all sexual orientations.

From the web site:

Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project is an education and advocacy initiative focused on addressing LGBT issues in K-12 school-based athletic and physical education programs. The Sport Project’s mission is to assist K-12 schools in creating and maintaining an athletic and physical education climate that is based on the core principles of respect, safety and equal access for all students, teachers and coaches regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression and integrating these efforts into overall school plans to ensure a safe, respectful school climate and culture.

The PSA can also be seen right on the NBA’s own web site.

Of course, as a counterbalance to the new, more thoughtful NBA, there is always Kobe Bryant, recently fined $100,000 by the league for hurling a double F-bomb at a referee.

Bryant, who makes upwards of $24 million a year, appealed the fine.

Scot Kersgaard has been managing editor of a political newspaper, editor and co-owner of a ski town newspaper, executive editor of eight high-tech magazines (where he worked with current Apple CEO Tim Cook), deputy press secretary to a U.S. Senator, and an outdoors columnist at the Rocky Mountain News. He has an English degree from the University of Washington. He was awarded a fellowship to study internet journalism at the University of Maryland's Knight Center for Specialized Journalism. He was student body president in college. He spends his free time hiking and skiing.