Matt Barnes talks using "N Word"

The story has been run a thousand times over the last two days, Matt Barnes used a variation of the N word over Twitter and it solicited reactions from many in the world of the NBA.  Earlier today before practice Barnes tried to bring clarity to the small uproar that he caused when he posted his comments on Twitter after being ejected while standing up for teammate Blake Griffin agains the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"The word I used is a word that's used on the court, used in the locker room, used amongst my friends and family; it's a regular word to me," Barnes said. "I think my mistake was using it in a social manner, which I regret and I apologize for it. But you guys have to get used to it."

"If you look at the particular way I said it, kids are seeing that through music, through their favorite artists, and probably some of their favorite movies and even on TV now," Barnes said. "The word is not necessarily a racial slur. Everyone is trying to paint it like I made some kind of hate crime or something. It's a word that I guarantee you will be used out here on the court today. It's a word that I've already heard in the locker room. It's not as big a deal as people are trying to make it....My mistake was making it in a social manner in the platform I used it on."