Friday, February 16, 2007
Tim Hardaway loses it!!!
Former NBA star and ESPN radio analyst Tim Hardaway revealed on the Dan Le Batard show on a Miami radio that he is homophobic.
After answering a series of questions from the Miami Herald and ESPN writer, Hardaway was asked how he would deal with a gay teammate, to which he answered:
"You know I hate gay people, so let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic... It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."
He went on to say this about having one in the locker room,
"First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would...really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that's right." He continues on to say, "...I don't think he should be in the locker room while we're in the locker room. I wouldn't even be a part of that."
Hardaway's comments sent a wave of shock around the league culminating in NBA Commissioner David Stern asking for Hardaway to be removed from this weekend's All-Star festivities. Stern said the league would not entertain Hardaway representing them in anyway since his comments are not in line with what the league agrees with. Hardaway promptly left Las Vegas, where the All-Star weekend is taking place. ESPN has also tried to distance itself from him saying that he would no longer be making comments on ESPN radio.
Hardaway immediately issued an apology saying he is committed to examining his feelings and will "recognize, appreciate and and respect the differences among people in our society."
However, his comments come a little too late to save his current career. He should've known better than to make such a type of comment on air. The manner in which he spoke his opinion was riddled with hate. And he should know better as a black athlete who's aware of the history of black people in the United states.
After decades of facing racial discrimination and being denied the same rights as other races in the U.S., blacks can empathize with gay people, even if some may be against homosexuality. It is obvious that while there are laws protecting people of color from discrimination, there are still some people who smile in our faces, but discriminate against us behind closed doors. As a Christian, I was brought up to believe that homosexuality was wrong. However, I was also brought up to believe that judgement should be left to God. I have worked with some gay people who I had no issues with. On the contrary, the few I know were extremely friendly and kind. But when I interacted with them, they were just people to me. Just as they didn't look at me and comment on the fact that I was heterosexual, I didn't look at them as being homosexuals.
For us to come as close to ridding this nation of discrimination of any kind (race, sex, gender), we need to start looking at each other as people and not what we look like or what lifestyle we choose. On a recent trip to the UK, I spent a couple of days in a small town called Kings Lynn. While I was there, I observed that besides my friend--who I was staying with-- I was the only other black person in public. I asked my friend how comfortable he felt living in a place that had less than 1 percent of his race and he said that he hardly noticed it. I came to understand what he meant because, when he went to work on one of the days, I went out for a little shopping trip and it was the most comfortable I had felt shopping before. There were no eyes darting at me like I was an alien as I walked the streets and no sales associates casting furtive glances of apprehension at me. If anything, I felt at home in the town. By the end of the trip, I shed a few tears because I knew I was going to miss the innocence of the town, knowing that I was coming back to the reality of my color in the United States.
I don't know what kind of actions Hardaway plans to take to put a little damage control to the negative publicity he has drawn with his comments, but he needs to do it quickly if he ever dreams of getting another chance in the sport that made it possible for him to live the lifestyle that he does right now. It's going to be very difficult for him to get another chance, even at the lowest level, but if he doesn't do something quickly, he may not get a chance anywhere.
After answering a series of questions from the Miami Herald and ESPN writer, Hardaway was asked how he would deal with a gay teammate, to which he answered:
"You know I hate gay people, so let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic... It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."
He went on to say this about having one in the locker room,
"First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would...really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that's right." He continues on to say, "...I don't think he should be in the locker room while we're in the locker room. I wouldn't even be a part of that."
Hardaway's comments sent a wave of shock around the league culminating in NBA Commissioner David Stern asking for Hardaway to be removed from this weekend's All-Star festivities. Stern said the league would not entertain Hardaway representing them in anyway since his comments are not in line with what the league agrees with. Hardaway promptly left Las Vegas, where the All-Star weekend is taking place. ESPN has also tried to distance itself from him saying that he would no longer be making comments on ESPN radio.
Hardaway immediately issued an apology saying he is committed to examining his feelings and will "recognize, appreciate and and respect the differences among people in our society."
However, his comments come a little too late to save his current career. He should've known better than to make such a type of comment on air. The manner in which he spoke his opinion was riddled with hate. And he should know better as a black athlete who's aware of the history of black people in the United states.
After decades of facing racial discrimination and being denied the same rights as other races in the U.S., blacks can empathize with gay people, even if some may be against homosexuality. It is obvious that while there are laws protecting people of color from discrimination, there are still some people who smile in our faces, but discriminate against us behind closed doors. As a Christian, I was brought up to believe that homosexuality was wrong. However, I was also brought up to believe that judgement should be left to God. I have worked with some gay people who I had no issues with. On the contrary, the few I know were extremely friendly and kind. But when I interacted with them, they were just people to me. Just as they didn't look at me and comment on the fact that I was heterosexual, I didn't look at them as being homosexuals.
For us to come as close to ridding this nation of discrimination of any kind (race, sex, gender), we need to start looking at each other as people and not what we look like or what lifestyle we choose. On a recent trip to the UK, I spent a couple of days in a small town called Kings Lynn. While I was there, I observed that besides my friend--who I was staying with-- I was the only other black person in public. I asked my friend how comfortable he felt living in a place that had less than 1 percent of his race and he said that he hardly noticed it. I came to understand what he meant because, when he went to work on one of the days, I went out for a little shopping trip and it was the most comfortable I had felt shopping before. There were no eyes darting at me like I was an alien as I walked the streets and no sales associates casting furtive glances of apprehension at me. If anything, I felt at home in the town. By the end of the trip, I shed a few tears because I knew I was going to miss the innocence of the town, knowing that I was coming back to the reality of my color in the United States.
I don't know what kind of actions Hardaway plans to take to put a little damage control to the negative publicity he has drawn with his comments, but he needs to do it quickly if he ever dreams of getting another chance in the sport that made it possible for him to live the lifestyle that he does right now. It's going to be very difficult for him to get another chance, even at the lowest level, but if he doesn't do something quickly, he may not get a chance anywhere.
