I'm not 'chiding' anyone here.... at least not yet. Yeah, either that or... he hasn't changed at all but badly wants us to think so. Either way - homophobic or not - I'd still have the same respect and admiration for him. Honestly, it doesn't really matter to me how he feels about stuff like that. And one other thing -- you said "Kobe acknowledged his mistake". 'Mistake'? What mistake? USA = a free country. I mean, I'm not supposed to tolerate people's sexual preference. Isn't everyone free to feel however one should about things? Ok, even if Kobe hates homosexuals - fine! Who are we to judge him?! The NBA fined him because they had a motive. That doesn't mean they necessarily care about anything, though. They fined him for two reasons: They're greedy, and love fining folks for whatever reason. Not fining him would've hurt the league's image. Now, if Kobe's chiding people only because majority of the society would find it cool -- that would suck big time. If I were him - I wouldn't acknowledge anything, and I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to chide anyone, even if that anyone supports me.