Today NBA referee Bill Kennedy announced that he is gay. Kennedy’s announcement comes out after he ejected Kings’ point guard Rajon Rondo for directing homophobic slurs towards him. It has been reported that Rondo knew that Kennedy was gay. If true, Rondo should face severe consequences.

In a world that is growing more and more tolerant and accepting, discrimination is being rightfully villainized. Last year, Donald Sterling was forced out of the league for his racist comments and the NBA took a stand against this type of behavior. Granted, it was a great public relations move, so they may not have been doing it fully for moral reasons, but regardless, the end result was the right one.

Rajon Rondo’s comments towards Bill Kennedy, which are quoted in this article, are horrendous. They are bigoted, prejudiced and have no place in society, especially not in 2015. Personally, I find the lack of outrage towards these comments disappointing. If a player had made a racial slur towards a black referee, the public would be furious and they would want swift action to be taken. Why isn’t it the same way for Rondo’s homophobic slur?

We can pretend to not know, but let’s be honest and realistic. Being racist against African Americans for example, is condemned by nearly everyone, as it should be. On the flip side, being prejudiced towards gay people is nowhere near as frowned upon as being racist. This country has a major political party supporting candidates for president that want to end gay marriage. Clearly the country as a whole is not fully behind gay rights, and discrimination against gay people is wrongly tolerated, or looked past, by too many people.

Currently Rondo has a one game suspension and it is an embarrassment. Adam Silver needs to step up and send the message that all forms of prejudice will not be tolerated.