Kobe Bryant hits out at fan using "gay" as an insult

Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant has urged people to refrain from using the term "gay" as an insult.

The shooting guard responded to a Twitter user, who wrote on the social network site "you're gay" to a person who said that he and the NBA star "make out in bed".

Bryant got involved in the spat by telling his 1.3m Twitter followers: "Just letting you know that using 'your gay' as a way to put someone down ain't ok! #notcool delete that out ur vocab."

The 34-year-old's response caused a number of his Twitter followers to commend the star for highlighting the issue.