Former NBA star "I hate gay people"
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February 15, 2007
Former NBA star Tim Hardaway: "I hate gay people"
Retired Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway said Wednesday that he hates gay people, though he later said he regretted the remarks. ''You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people, and I don't like to be around gay people,'' he said while a guest on Sports Talk 790 the Ticket. ''I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.''
The discussion was sparked by last week's announcement that retired NBA center John Amaechi is gay. The host asked Hardaway how he would interact with a gay teammate.
''First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that is right. I don't think he should be in the locker room while we are in the locker room.''
If he did find out that a teammate was gay, Hardaway said he would ask for the player to be removed from the team. ''Something has to give,'' Hardaway said. ''If you have 12 other ballplayers in your locker room that's upset and can't concentrate and always worried about him in the locker room or on the court or whatever, it's going to be hard for your teammates to win and accept him as a teammate.''
Amaechi detailed his life in his autobiography Man in the Middle, which was released Wednesday. He hoped his coming-out would be a catalyst for intelligent discourse.
''I'm actually tempted to laugh,'' Amaechi told The Miami Herald. ''Finally, someone who is honest. It is ridiculous, absurd, petty, bigoted, and shows a lack of empathy that is gargantuan and unfathomable. But it is honest. And it illustrates the problem better than any of the fuzzy language other people have used so far.''
Hardaway later apologized for the remarks during a telephone interview with Fox affiliate WSVN in Miami. ''Yes, I regret it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that,'' he said. ''That was my mistake.''
Hardaway has reportedly been removed from further league-related appearances. ''It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours,'' NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. (AP)
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02/17/07-02/19/07
Hardaway banished from all-star weekend for antigay tirade
The NBA banished Tim Hardaway from All-Star weekend in Las Vegas because of his antigay remarks. Hardaway, who played in five All-Star games during the 1990s, was already in Las Vegas to make a series of public appearances this week on behalf of the league. But after saying ''I hate gay people'' during a radio interview, commissioner David Stern stepped in.
''We removed him from representing us because we didn't think his comments were consistent with having anything to do with us,'' Stern told reporters Thursday at the opening of a fan festival at a Las Vegas casino, part of the NBA's All-Star weekend. Stern said he had not spoken with Hardaway, who left Las Vegas on Thursday, but he planned to do so.
While Stern said a discussion about openly gay players could be part of future rookie orientation programs, he doesn't see a need to address the league. ''This is an issue overall that has fascinated America. It's not an NBA issue,'' Stern said, pointing to the ongoing debate over same-sex marriage at the state and federal levels.
''This is a country that needs to talk about this issue,'' he said. ''And, not surprisingly, they use sports as a catalyst to begin the dialogue.''
Hardaway apologized for his comments, which came a week after John Amaechi became the first former NBA player to say he was gay. ''As an African-American, I know all too well the negative thoughts and feelings hatred and bigotry cause,'' Hardaway said Thursday in a statement issued by his agent. ''I regret and apologize for the statements that I made that have certainly caused the same kinds of feelings and reactions.
''I especially apologize to my fans, friends, and family in Miami and Chicago. I am committed to examining my feelings and will recognize, appreciate, and respect the differences among people in our society,'' he said. ''I regret any embarrassment I have caused the league on the eve of one of their greatest annual events.''
The NBA brings in many former players to take part in various All-Star events. Hardaway had already represented the league in Las Vegas earlier this week at a Habitat for Humanity event and a fitness promotion. The former U.S. Olympian was also scheduled to be an assistant coach at a wheelchair game Thursday night and later appear at the fan-oriented Jam Session until Stern told him he was no longer welcome.
''His views are not consistent with ours,'' Stern said. (Melissa Murphy, AP)
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from here it looks like quite a healthy debate is developing. is that right? i only ask as it's never easy to judge the 'real' USA seperated as we are by our common language and our wedded media.
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Well, gays hate basketball so it evens out.
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really interesting article!
@roto13: are u serious? comments like u just posted dont help the gay community AT ALL
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really interesting article!
@roto13: are u serious? comments like u just posted dont help the gay community AT ALL
I am fairly certain that he was joking. And even if he wasn't it made me laugh. :lol:
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The beauty of America is that we all can say out loud what we feel! As we do all falls in it's proper place.
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Definitely. Some people tend to forget that some things said can't be taken back–and simply just verifies them as completely disrespectul hypocrites.
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Asked the same question, Shaquille O?Neal said: "If I had a gay tea mate, I'll support him". He also provided an assist to police over the weekend, trailing a man who allegedly assaulted a gay couple before alerting an arresting officer.
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Shaq has a gay cousin who he treats like a brother. So I guess he got over his bigotry & stereotypes long ago.
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OMG… his family live in Miami, well known as being the temple of gay people :lol:
Can you guys figure out the scene of Mr. Tim Hardaway having a gay son? Kinda punishment :w00t: -
Living in Florida for ten years I saw and experienced a large ammount of so called straight men crusing the beach parking lots looking for sex at lunchtime, after dinner or whenever they could get it. I was shocked to see the ammount of so called straight men looking for sex. The men that cried the loudest on their hatred of gays were the first ones looking for it. I will keep it clean.
There also was a large Baptist population , after church every cruisy parking lot at the beach was packed with some Bible thumping men ( not all) in cars carrying baby seats and looking for sex. Unfortunatley my home was next door to one of these parking lots, after a while the sound of cars driving in circles in a closed lot and headlighs shining on your property gets annoying. Walking on the beach at nigh seeing men going at it in the sandunes gets a little old.
These men were the first to scream anti Gay propaganda, they screamed the louidest but were the first to open their fly in a car or behind a sandune. -
John Amaechi is HOT
and about the other dude well there not much to say really , him just saying that just shows the world who he truly is.
