Shortly after John Amaechi, retired from the NBA for the past couple years, announced that he was gay, former Golden State and Miami guard Tim Hardaway admitted he hated gay people, and later apologized for making the remarks.
Well... hmm, if any other retired basketball players (or former Pacers, for that matter, arrgghh) wanna make asses of themselves, please speak now or forever keep your bigoted comments to yourself.
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You'll notice in his alleged "apology", Hardaway just says he shouldn't have said he hated gay people. That's not to say he doesn't still hate gay people and think they have no place in this world, but he just knows he shouldn't have said it.
When the only positive thing you can say about this story is, "Well, at least he didn't use the term 'faggot'," you know it's bad. Which is a shame, because I do like the guy and think he was a great player.
Hearing it this morning I kind of felt like he deserved the benefit of the doubt, that he didn't really think through his answer so he was mostly guilty of a poor chioice of words.
You wanted the best, you got... Out of Context Quote of the Week.
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Just saw this on Entertainment and Sports Programming Network News: The Miami Herald's reporting that Hardaway's services are no longer required (miami.com) when it comes to making media appearances on behalf of the NBA. Doesn't Hardaway do stuff for ESPN too? He doesn't want to work with gay people, I don't want to work with him.
I like him too, and as soon as I read the quotes I knew he was about to get shit-canned everywhere. He works for ESPN or TNT or someone too as a broadcaster of sorts, I believe. Or at least, he did in the recent past.
While an extreme position, he probably speaks for more people than we care to admit. He may have inadvertently done more to help expose the situation than any book. Pro sports is still a bastion of testosterone. I wonder when, if ever, an openly gay player can exist in a major team sport at a pro level?
He comes off as someone extremely immature. Hopefully, he will grow from this.
Here are some more thoughts from a demented mind in Central Florida: Though the comments and "apology" are somewhat old news by now, I just found this online. This is hysterical, and it's just what's needed to put Tim Hardaway in his place.
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