Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane apologized late Thursday night for a comment on the social network Twitter he eventually admitted was homophobic.
“Chris bosh looked like a fairy going to the rim,” Kane tweeted in a reference to NBA player Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat.
Kane spent the rest of the evening defending the comment, repeating words of support from other Twitter users and inviting critics to stop following him if they don’t like what he has to say.
But Kane eventually changed his tune after a conversation with Patrick Burke of the organization You Can Play, which fights homophobia in sports. Burke got Kane’s phone number after reaching out to the Jets.
“Evander knew that he had made a mistake,” Burke told Global News. “He didn’t understand why it was offensive. He thought it was just a joke and I talked him through it.”
Kane deleted the tweet and posted an apology.
“Just spoke with Patrick Burke + @youcanplayteam and would like to sincerely apologize for a tweet where I used a homophobic term. I made a mistake and will learn from this. I apologize to anyone I offended by my tweet and this will not happen again.”
The Jets general manager, Kevin Cheveldayoff, met with Kane in person to discuss the situation Friday.
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