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After reviewing an incident between New York Knicks star forward Amare Stoudemire and a fellow Twitter user, the NBA has fined Stoudemire $50,000 for using offensive and derogatory language in a Twitter message to a fan.

The whole thing started when twitter user @BFerrelli tweeted the following this weekend directly to Stoudemire:

“You better come back stronger and quicker to make up for last season.” He also added a word not suitable for children at the end of the tweet.

Stoudemire responded by sending the user a direct message – also known as a private message – which included a gay slur and more words not suitable for children.

Of course, the fan took a screenshot of what Stoudemire sent him privately and posted it for the world to see.

Stoudemire sent the fan an apology via direct message the next day:

“I apologize for what I said earlier. I just got off the plane and had time to think about it. Sorry bro. No Excuses. Won’t happen again.”

The fan retweeted the message to his followers and then replied publicly to Stoudemire:

@Amareisreal sooo after all this that happened can I get a follow back or tickets to a game lol or is that pushing it?”

No word on whether Amare will actually give this guy tickets.

Recently, the NBA has cracked down on the usage of anti-gay language and slurs:

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant received a $100,000 fine for calling a referee an anti-gay slur in April. A month later, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah received a $50,000 fine for shouting an anti-gay slur at a fan who was heckling him.

The whole incident is unfortunate and the timing couldn’t be worse, seeing as June is Pride Month and that most gay pride parades were held this weekend in cities across the Country.

Hopefully Stoudemire has learned his lesson and will think before he tweets. I also hope he realizes that gay slurs will no longer be tolerated.