Basketball: NBA player denies being homophobic after using gay slur

Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended for using a homophobic slur. Photo / Getty

Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo has apologised for his homophobic slur directed at NBA referee Bill Kennedy and subsequently denied he himself is homophobic.

Long-time referee Kennedy revealed he is gay following an investigation into homophobic slurs allegedly uttered by Rondo after his ejection from a game earlier this month, a news report said on Monday.

"I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man," Kennedy told Yahoo Sports.

"I am following in the footsteps of others who have self-identified in the hopes that will send a message to young men and women in sports that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are."

Kennedy's announcement came after the league suspended Rondo, who was accused of making anti-gay slurs following his ejection from a game on December 3 in Mexico City.

As part of an investigation National Basketball Referee's Association general counsel Lee Seham, Kennedy and fellow referee Ben Taylor described Rondo's post-ejection rant, saying it included, "You're a mother f***ing faggot." And, "You're a f***ing faggot, Billy."

A third official, Bennie Adams, said Rondo aggressively pursued Kennedy and had to be restrained by teammates and escorted off the floor by Sacramento team security.

The three officials confirmed those reports in taped interviews conducted by NBA security on December 4, Seham said, according to Yahoo Sports.

Rondo initially denied making the comments before apologising via his Twitter account on Tuesday.

"My actions during the game were out of frustration and emotion, period!"

"They absolutely do not reflect my feelings toward the LGBT community. I did not mean to offend or disrespect anyone," Rondo tweeted.

Rondo, who has once again found form after tapering off during his final years as a Boston Celtic and having a disastrous 2014/15 season in Dallas, also earned the ire of Sacramento management, who criticised his comments.

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said Rondo's comments do not reflect "the culture of the Sacramento Kings organisation or the world we want to live in."

"Rajon's comment was disrespectful and offensive, and we wholeheartedly disapprove of any language that discriminates or disparages others based on sexual orientation or anything else," Kings VP of Basketball, Vlade Divac, wrote.

The NBA suspended Rondo on Friday, saying that he had been punished for "directing a derogatory and offensive term towards a game official and not leaving the court in a timely manner."

Rondo is suspended for Sacramento's game against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, a penalty that will cost him $US86,300 ($A119,000) in game salary, Yahoo Sports said.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement supporting Kennedy.

"I wholeheartedly support Bill's decision to live his life proudly and openly," Silver said.

Kennedy, 49, has officiated 1,056 regular-season games, 68 playoff games, NBA All-Star Games, five NBA Finals and the 2012 Olympics.

He becomes the second NBA referee to make public he is gay after Violet Palmer, who came out when she got married to her longtime partner Tanya Stine in 2014.

- AAP