Sea level rise has regional variation due to the gravitational pull of the melting ice. When polar ice melts, there is less gravity at the poles so equatorial regions see higher sea level rise.
True. Unfortunately the quote does not mention gravity or melting ice at all. The two sentences are about the ocean warming and the differences in sea-level depending on how warm the local ocean is. This is just wrong (99.9% sure, but would update my view with some strong evidence). With a PhD in Earth Science and a Bachelors in Geophysics I am just sad when wrong ideas get expressed as the truth from scientists.