Kevin Durant recently spoke to the media for the first time since injuring his hamstring in February and discussed sending homophobic messages to actor and comedian Michael Rapaport. The messages were made public this week by the Atypical star and included threatening messages along with anti-gay and misogynistic slurs. The Brooklyn Nets star apologized to the fans for the messages.
“I’m sorry that people seen that language I used,” Durant said per ESPN. “That’s not really what I want people to see and hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out there on the floor.” Before speaking to the media, Durant sent an apology to Rapaport on Twitter after replying to the fan about the messages.
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The incident all started when Durant appeared on NBA on TNT in December “KD seemed deeply in his feelings with the [NBA on TNT] crew after the game,” Rapaport wrote on Twitter at the time. “DAMNIT he’s super sensitive about everything. Don’t do the interview.” That led to a back-and-forth war between Durant and Rapaport who then shared the messages on social media.
“As most of you know, I receive threats and disgusting messages DAILY, but never in my wildest dreams did I think [Kevin Durant] would be among them,” Rapaport wrote on Instagram. The [snake emoji] himself is now threatening me, bringing up my wife and wants to fight. This is supposed to be America’s sweetheart right? KD didn’t get ‘hacked’ either. Hold this L champ.”
As Durant moves on from the incident, he also looks to get healthy and help the Nets make a run at the NBA Finals. “I’m progressing pretty well,” he said when talking about his hamstring injury. “Looking forward to being out there with my teammates pretty soon.” Durant has only played in 19 games for the Nets this season and has averaged 29 points and 7.3 rebounds. When he returns, Durant will be playing with a strong roster that features James Harden, Kyrie Irving, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin.
“I’m looking forward to playing alongside them,” Durant said of Griffin and Aldridge. “Guys in the league who have been through a lot in this league and are looking forward to another opportunity to chase something special here with us.”
