I would be curious to see the full quote. I think it is at best part of the story, because his other quotes paint quite a different picture: e.g. it's "ridiculous" that people are offended.
Assuming this is true though, and he's not just backpedaling to try to save face, it's interesting that this came from Gasol in particular. Since he is one of the (few?) Spanish team members to live in the USA, he *should* be the one to realize that people in the USA would be offended by the picture.