Kobe Bryant doesn't get his way during a game and calls a ref a "faggot." He gets fined 100K and I question his moral character even more than I did before. Joakim Noah receives extensive verbal abuse throughout an entire basketball game from some asshole sitting behind him, snaps, and calls the guy an expletive "faggot" and immediately apologizes to the media, is fined 50K and calls the fine "fair." I walk away feeling assured of Noah's character. Why the discrepancy? Well, for one, I think Bryant is scummy and rape trials taint someone's image in my mind. Second, I think Noah was pissed and sought out the most offensive words he could find, whereas Bryant nonchalantly yelled that at a referee (who, by the way, was just doing his job). Noah's multi-cultural, bi-racial, and international background (including homes in NYC and Paris) lead me to believe that he is more cultured and understanding than that. Further, and this is not an exaggeration, every single article I've read that has discussed his character has been positive, including this one regarding the homophobic slur which includes, amongst other things, the only gay exec in the NBA saying that he felt sorry for Noah for the whole incident. So, in summation, Kobe wasn't fined enough, Noah was fined sufficiently, and they more or less said the same thing.