Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards will likely be fined by the NBA for making homophobic comments on social media. It can even be as much as you get for

When star players embarrass themselves, their teams and the league, the league usually responds in the form of damage control. Make a statement or two, impose a fine that athletes barely notice, and move on as quickly as possible.

In this case, the NBA could even suspend him for one game if they wanted to make a sharper point.

Fines aren’t a problem for a player who probably makes $500 million over his career.

The suspension will punish those in the Timberwolves organization who had nothing to do with Edwards’ attack.

So don’t cheer up Edwards. educate him

Prejudice makes ignorance evil. Erase Edwards’ ignorance.

Organizations including Lynx and Timberwolves are ideally suited to make this happen.

Lynx’s president of business operations, general manager, and coaches (Carly Knox, Cheryl Reeve) are gay and married to each other. they are exemplary people.

Lynx Hall of Famer Rebecca Branson is gay. She is now an assistant coach for the Lynx, a Timberwolves game broadcaster, and a business owner. She is an exemplary human being.

The Lynx and Timberwolves share the same owner as Star Tribune and employ gay staff. His Timberwolves beat for the Star Tribune His writer, Chris Hine, is gay. I would say he is an excellent writer and one of my favorite colleague him, it doesn’t matter. He deserves to work in a slander-free space, regardless of skill level or likeability.

It is statistically certain that Edwards was gay and played with and against athletes who chose not to reveal their true selves. Because it’s possible someone like Edwards would treat them like any gay people they see on the street.

Appropriate punishment for Edwards is both simple and difficult.

Request him to meet with Lynx and all the gay men employed by the Timberwolves and explain what he thinks. Let him look into their eyes, recognize their humanity, and understand how his words hurt.

Then we get him to meet gay fans who are rooting for him and funding him to make the 21-year-old rich.

These people may express anger or disappointment at first, but eventually they will ask Edwards to be kind to them.

This process requires a final step.

Edwards is black from Georgia. To fully understand the weight of his prejudiced words, it is necessary to face the history of prejudice in his hometown and how it affects everyone who shares his skin color. need to do it. The toll of great civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis for taking a stand against bigotry and how black Georgians were enslaved, ruled by Jim Crow, Were they disenfranchised, abused and voters oppressed?

Edwards would find common humanity with gay people.

The NBA should take steps to make sure we know how many people Edwards has hurt. That’s the only way something good can come out of this.