Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson is taking a lot of heat for two instances in recent weeks when he used anti-gay slurs in very public ways. The flap has gotten Minnesota’s own openly gay former Viking Esera Tuaolo on the hot list for interviews about homophobia in American football.

“It seems like every single season I’m getting phone calls about some athlete saying a gay slur, and using the word ‘gay’ and ‘faggot’ and ‘homo’ and ‘queer’ in such a negative term,” Tuaolo said told The Kansas City Star. “There are gay athletes in the NFL and in baseball and in the NHL … it’s so crippling to someone who is going to work knowing there is no support in their organization. What is also crippling to an athlete is hearing slurs like that thrown around like it’s just the thing to do. When you use the term ‘gay’ or ‘faggot’ or ‘queer’ and you use it in a negative term, it’s the same as calling a woman a ‘bitch.’ Or the same as calling an African-American the n-word. It’s demeaning to another human being. And it’s not right.”

It’s not right, and at least the Chiefs and the NFL acknowledge it — even if they’ve gone light on his punishment. Last week, Johnson yelled “Get your faggot ass out of here,” to reporters. Then, when responding to a follower on Twitter, Johnson tweeted “think bout a clever diss then that wit ur fag pic. Christopher street boy. Is what us east coast cats call u.”

Originally the Chiefs suspended Johnson for two weeks, but fearing arbitration, cut the punishment to one week. That’ll cost him $315,000 for both incidents — or about $158,000 per “fag.”