Kevin Durant fined $50,000 for messages sent to Michael Rapaport

The NBA announced on Friday that Brooklyn Nets superstar and two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant has been fined $50,000 "for using offensive and derogatory language on social media." The league's statement adds that Durant acknowledges his actions were inappropriate.

Per ESPN, actor and comedian Michael Rapaport recently shared private direct messages sent to him by Durant that contained homophobic and misogynistic slurs. As Mark Medina of USA Today noted, Durant addressed the messages on Thursday as he works to return from the hamstring injury that's kept him out of action since Feb. 13. 

"I’m sorry that people have seen that language I’ve used," he said. "It’s not really what I want people to see and hear from me. But hopefully I can move past it and get back on the floor." 

Nets coach Steve Nash added: "It was a private conversation with him and the other party. We’ve talked about it internally. But we’ll keep all of that stuff internal." 

Last month, former Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard was fined $50,000 and suspended a week for using an anti-Semitic slur during a video-game stream.