NBA Star Kevin Durant's Homophobic Rant at Michael Rapaport Revealed

NBA superstar Kevin Durant has issued a tepid apology to actor and comedian Michael Rapaport for using homophobic and misogynistic language and slurs in private messages on social media. Rapaport had tweeted criticism of Durant's postgame interview last December following the Brooklyn Nets' season opener, to which the two-time NBA Finals MVP, 11-time all-star, and 2014 league MVP took exception. The Nets forward could face sanctions from the league for his comments, which appear to violate the NBA's rules banning homophobic language by players.

"I receive threats and disgusting messages DAILY," Rapaport posted to Twitter Tuesday, "but never in my wildest dreams did I think @KDTrey5 [Durant] would be among them."

In screen shots of the direct messages, Durant can be seen calling Rapaport a "pasty cum guzzling bitch" and saying all he does is "cock suck other men for attention."

In a later message, Durant made it even more personal, calling him a "pussy" and saying that Rapoport's wife "doesn't even respect your bitch ass."

The interview that sparked the reaction from Durant took place following the Nets' season opener against the Golden State Warriors December 23. Durant and teammate Kyrie Irving were dominant as the Nets downed the Warriors 125-99. Following the game, however, Durant covered his head and appeared disinterested when responding to questions from former NBA players and current TNT studio hosts Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith.

"It was loud in that arena, couldn't hear," said a clearly sarcastic Smith.

"There was so much energy in there, wasn't it," O'Neal laughed mockingly.

"Tell your baby daddy Chuck to be better at his job and frame his questions better," Durant messaged after Rapaport complained about the star's answers to questions from Barkley, who was known in his playing days as the "Round Mound of Rebound" for both his ability to clear the boards as well as his notoriously large waistline.

Durant could face sanctions for violating the league's stringent policies against the use of homophobic language. The late Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for a 2011 outburst where he called referee Bennie Adams a "faggot" following a technical foul.

"You might wanna take the cameras off of him right now, for the children watching at home," ESPN reported then-TNT announcer and current Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr saying of the exchange, which was caught on camera.

Bryant later apologized for the slur and blamed "frustration during the heat of the game, period" before declaring the words did not reflect his "feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were not meant to offend anyone."

While Durant's words and actions were clearly inexcusable, there also remain questions about Rapaport's words and actions. The actor posted a video that showed a screen shot from a conversation between Rapaport and an apparent burner account for Durant where Rapoport calls the player a "bald bitch" and admits to deleting a comment that he was going to break Durant's "fucking jaw." The video in question then goes on to reveal that the dispute might also be related to Rapaport's dissatisfaction with free tickets Durant had gotten him for the game, saying they were six rows back when he wanted to have floor seats, or "splinters in his toes," as he can later be heard saying to the clearly annoyed player following the game.

Rapaport also called Durant a "pussy" and a "bald head rotten ass worm" after the player had posted his apology of sorts saying the pair "talk CRAZIER than this" on a regular basis.