Spanish Basketball Coach Criticized for Homophobic Remark

Basketball coach Natxo Lezkano is under fire for his comments during a timeout in the Movistar Estudiantes’ game against Monbus Obradoiro. The team lost 73-90.

Lezkano told his players, “Hey, we can’t go out there and run like sissies.” Many found his words offensive.

Backlash on social media

People quickly reacted on social media.

• A Twitter user posted a clip of the incident with the caption “No to homophobia”
• Many called for Lezkano to apologize

🗣️”No podemos salir a la pista y correr como mariquitas” dice el entrenador de @MovistarEstu Natxo Lezkano,

Perdieron de 17 puntos contra @OBRADOIROCAB .

No a la homofobia 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/1Fa7HveBdb

— Óscar Sánchez Feijóo 🦋 (@OscarSanchez)

Twitter user Óscar Sánchez Feijóo posting about the incident

𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙭𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙯𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙤 «Quisiera expresar mis más sinceras disculpas por el comentario inapropiado que hice durante el partido de hoy. Fue un momento de tensión y no fue mi intención ofender a nadie. Lamento profundamente lo sucedido y reitero mis disculpas a todos.»

— Movistar Estudiantes (@MovistarEstu)

He said, “I want to express my sincerest apologies for the inappropriate comment I made during today’s game. It was a tense moment, and I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I deeply regret what happened and reiterate my apologies to everyone.”