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Jets’ Kane apologizes for tweeting homophobic slur

Winnipeg Jets v Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO, CANADA- JANUARY 5: Evander Kane #9 of the Winnipeg Jets skates in the warm-up prior to a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 5, 2012 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

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Winnipeg forward Evander Kane is once again embroiled in controversy due to his use of social media.

On Thursday evening, Kane tweeted “Chris Bosh looked like a fairy going to the rim,” during Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.

The comment was met with instant criticism, which Kane initially responded to -- before speaking with Patrick Burke of the You Can Play organization.

Following that discussion, Kane tweeted the following statement.

“Just spoke with Patrick Burke + @YouCanPlayTeam and would like to sincerely apologize for a tweet where I used a homophobic term. I made a mistake and will learn from this.

I apologize to anyone I offended by my tweet and this will not happen again. #YouCanPlay”

For Burke’s take on the incident, here’s more from the Winnipeg Sun:

“Since this appears to be ‘controversial’ to some of Twitter, yes Fairy is a gay slur. Fun part is for those doubting me, I’m at the NIKE LGBT Sports Summit so I just took a survey of 30 gay athletes and they agree.

“That said, it isn’t always commonly known and I genuinely believe Evander didn’t know the implications for gay people. I know for a fact Evander wrote his own apology (not always true of these apologies) and wants to make amends for his mistake.”

This isn’t the first time Kane’s come under fire for his use of social media.

In February, he said a “good portion of the criticism” he faces is because he’s black, clarifying the majority of said criticism occurs on social media.

During the lockout, he came under fire for tweeting a picture of him talking on a money phone, in a shout out to boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.