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"&lt;a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://www.tmz.com/person/kobe-bryant/\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kobe Bryant&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; just got off the phone with the president of a gay rights organization -- and apologized for using a gay slur last night ... TMZ has learned. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt=\"0413_hrc_kobe_ex_tmz\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2011/04/13/0413-hrc-kobe-ex-tmz.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bryant spoke with Human Rights Campaign honcho Joe Solmonese -- who tells TMZ, \"I applaud Kobe Bryant for his swift apology. We had a very sincere conversation in which he expressed his heartfelt regret for the hurt that his words caused.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Solmonese adds, \"He told me that it&amp;#8217;s never OK to degrade or tease, and that he understands how his words could unfortunately give the wrong impression that this is appropriate conduct.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;\"At the end of a difficult day, I applaud Kobe for coming forward and taking responsibility for his actions.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;!-- relatedlinks --&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.tmz.com/2011/04/13/kobe-bryant-hrc-human-rights-campaign-gay-slur-apology-gay-rights-group-los-angeles-lakers/>