It’s been a rocky couple of years for Rajon Rondo. After a nightmarish season with the Mavericks that ended with ugly departure, he ended up with a dysfunctional Kings organization that is perpetually on the brink of implosion. If that wasn’t bad enough, the moody point guard compounded matters earlier this season when he unleashed a homophobic tirade on referee Bill Kennedy after being ejected from a game in December. Kennedy came out as gay following the incident, which prompted an avalanche of criticism directed at Rondo.
The Kings guard first tweeted a lukewarm non-apology, which prompted even more backlash, and was then forced to issue an actual apology the next day. Rondo appeared on ESPN’s The Jump with Rachel Nichols on Monday, and – in the wake of the horrific mass shooting at gay nightclub in Orlando that killed at least 50 people early Sunday – he was forced to own up to those previous comments.
Rondo seemed genuinely contrite, offering both another apology for his prior actions and sending out his thoughts and prayers to those affected by the tragedy in Orlando. It was a welcome change in tone from his somewhat defiant stance during the regular season and one that can’t hurt in terms of rehabilitating his image around the league as he once again enters free agency in July.
