Who Should We Really Be Fearful Of Offending?

I'm sure you've seen this.  Kobe was given a technical foul.  He wasn't happy about it.  As he went to sit down after receiving it, he commenced to throwing a hissy-fit by punching his chair and throwing his towel down.  But that wasn't all.  The two choice words that flowed from his mouth, directed at the official, have brought massive controversy Kobe's way.  The NBA fined him $100,000 for it.  Some are even calling for his suspension.

So what did he say?  I won't repeat it here, but he used the f-word in conjunction with another word that describes a bundle of sticks.  But here's the kicker: the official he directed these words at is homosexual, or, to be politically correct, a member of an "alternative" lifestyle.  And his two choice words are now being referred to as a horribly offensive "homophobic slur" by the media.

First, let me say this.  I don't use this type of language, so the use of any of it is found offensive by me.  And I don't care who uses it, from a elementary school kid who thinks they're cool, to a teenager who knows they're cool, to an adult who should know better, to celebrities, athletes, and so on.  I don't like it, but I won't harp on this point because people have the choice to say whatever they want to, within reason of course.

So, based on my above paragraph, I think what he said was wrong.  But why did this even become a story?  How many players, coaches, celebrities, and so on, have used language publicly?  Would we have even heard about it if he called the official any other cuss word?  Or what if he had used God's name in vein?  It would have been written off as something we all say in the "heat of the moment." 

So to answer my question, it became a story because it offended a minority group of people.  It was wrong of him to do it, I agree, but look at this scenario.  What if a religious group went public and demanded his apology and that he be suspended for offending the religious community by his use of language?  He probably would have apologized, but it would have been a I'm-sorry-for-getting-caught apology (like his apology he submitted) instead of a I'm-sorry-for-what-I-did apology.  And the people demanding this would have been laughed at and called "religious fanatics" and would have been dismissed. 

So this begs a question:

Are we more worried about offending people then we are about offending God?