GREENBURGH, N.Y. _ Knicks forward Marcus Morris apologized on Friday for derogatory comments he made about women and Memphis forward Jae Crowder on Wednesday night.
Morris was fined $35,000 by the NBA for his role in a last-minute brawl between the Knicks and Grizzlies and his comments afterward, which drew the ire of many, including some WNBA players.
After the game, Morris said Crowder has "a lot of female tendencies on the court," added that "it's a man's game" and referred to Crowder's behavior as "very womanlike."
An hour after making the comments, Morris apologized on Twitter. He later posted that his mother texted him to say she loved him.
On Thursday, the league handed down its ruling and the Knicks issued a statement that, in part, called Morris' comments "offensive and unacceptable."
"First, let me start off just apologizing deeply," Morris said in a statement Friday. "My comments were unnecessary. I wasn't even thinking when I was talking. We have women referees, women coaches. I'm a big, huge supporter of the WNBA. I have relationships with a few female players in the WNBA. If I offended any of them, I deeply, deeply apologize. I had time to sit and reflect on my words and it was just unprofessional of me to even refer to any of that in any types of downgrading or even feel that I can mention a woman's name or anything about women referring to the game of basketball that they put their heart into and coaching, just life in general. I'm deeply sorry and I deeply apologize."
Knicks point guard Elfrid Payton received a one-game suspension.
