--- title: Rajon Rondo Apologizes to NBA Referee Over Anti-Gay Slurs description: Rajon Rondo doubled down on his apologies to NBA referee Bill Kennedy on Tuesday after directing a fury of anti-gay slurs at the ref. canonical: https://time.com/4150496/rajon-rondo-gay-slurs-apology-bill-kennedy/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-15T22:52:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:59:37.129Z article:section: Sports og:title: Rajon Rondo Apologizes to NBA Referee Over Anti-Gay Slurs og:description: “That is not who I am or what I believe" og:url: https://time.com/4150496/rajon-rondo-gay-slurs-apology-bill-kennedy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48c6264690a337a/69887585ab6d77f4316a7992/gettyimages-501470080.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-501470080 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rajon Rondo Apologizes to NBA Referee Over Anti-Gay Slurs twitter:description: “That is not who I am or what I believe" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48c6264690a337a/69887585ab6d77f4316a7992/gettyimages-501470080.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rajon Rondo Apologizes to NBA Referee Over Anti-Gay Slurs > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 15, 2015 10:52 PM UTC  Rajon Rondo has apologized to NBA referee Bill Kennedy after hurling anti-gay slurs at him. Rajon Rondo has apologized to NBA referee Bill Kennedy after hurling anti-gay slurs at him.Rocky Widner-2015 NBAE  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Dec 15, 2015 10:52 PM UTC Rajon Rondo doubled down on his apologies to NBA referee Bill Kennedy on Tuesday after [directing a fury of anti-gay slurs at the ref](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-referee-bill-kennedy-reveals-he-is-gay--rajon-rondo-made-alleged-homosexual-slur-to-him-174255321.html) following a game ejection. The Sacramento Kings guard was suspended after a Dec. 3 game in Mexico City in which he followed Kennedy while hurling anti-gay slurs at the referee who had just ejected him for consecutive technical fouls, according to [Yahoo! Sports](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-referee-bill-kennedy-reveals-he-is-gay--rajon-rondo-made-alleged-homosexual-slur-to-him-174255321.html). Kennedy later came out as gay, [the site reported.](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-referee-bill-kennedy-reveals-he-is-gay--rajon-rondo-made-alleged-homosexual-slur-to-him-174255321.html) “There is no place on or off the court for language that disrespects anyone’s sexual orientation,” [Rondo said in a statement](https://twitter.com/sam%5Famick/status/676880850823200768). “That is not who I am or what I believe and I will strive every day to be a better person.” The basketball star on Monday had [previously addressed](https://twitter.com/RajonRondo/status/676522970731446276) his actions during the game, saying on Twitter they were “out of frustration and emotion, period!” and “They absolutely do not reflect my feelings toward the LGBT community. I did not mean to offend or disrespect anyone.” Many commentators [criticized](http://www.sbnation.com/2015/12/15/10205522/rajon-rondo-slur-bill-kennedy-gay-no-apology-sacramento-kings) the tweets as insufficient or not genuine, which Rondo said prompted him to issue a longer statement. “Yesterday, I said that my words toward Bill Kennedy were unacceptable and did not reflect my feelings toward the LGBT community. Some have interpreted my comments as a non-apology,” he said. “I want to be clear, from the bottom of my heart, that I am truly sorry for what I said to Bill.” > [](https://twitter.com/sam%5Famick/status/676880850823200768) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4150496/rajon-rondo-gay-slurs-apology-bill-kennedy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4150496/rajon-rondo-gay-slurs-apology-bill-kennedy/"},"headline":"Rajon Rondo Apologizes to NBA Referee Over Anti-Gay Slurs","datePublished":"2015-12-15T22:52:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:59:37.129Z","description":"“That is not who I am or what I believe and I will strive every day to be a better person\"","url":"https://time.com/4150496/rajon-rondo-gay-slurs-apology-bill-kennedy/","keywords":["Basketball"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48c6264690a337a/69887585ab6d77f4316a7992/gettyimages-501470080.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd48c6264690a337a/69887585ab6d77f4316a7992/gettyimages-501470080.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-501470080","caption":"Rajon Rondo has apologized to NBA referee Bill Kennedy after hurling anti-gay slurs at him.","creditText":"Rocky Widner-2015 NBAE","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/basketball/","name":"Basketball"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4150496/rajon-rondo-gay-slurs-apology-bill-kennedy/","name":"Rajon Rondo Apologizes to NBA Referee Over Anti-Gay Slurs"}}]}] ```