Banging One Off The Rim

"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." Straight talk from a very straight guy - Tim Hardaway. In its own twisted and stupid way, the honesty is almost refreshing. Compared to the way folks in Hollywood have lately been doing everything they can do to distance themselves from appearing the slightest bit homophobic, its almost a relief to hear someone speaking without a filter. Almost.
Hardaway reminds us of just how far we have to go. Standing six foot tall and weighing just shy of two hundred pounds, what exactly does he have to be afraid of? "I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." Gay people. Tim Hardaway is afraid of gay people - especially in the world or in the United States. And what gay person would be most terrifying to Mr. Hardaway? John Amaechi, the first openly gay player for the NBA. Tim's rant continued: "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."
Okay - maybe we should slow down for just a moment and lay a little blame on Miami's Sports Talk 790 who allowed this venting to occur. Hardaway spent six years playing for the Heat (feel free to start snickering about "slam dunks" and "hoops" and "Heat") and is regularly offered a chance to share his opinions about the game of basketball - because he is an expert on this particular subject. Why he was asked to share his opinions about sexual preference remains unclear.
John Amaechi is ten inches taller and seventy pounds heavier than Tim Hardaway which may explain why Tim Hardaway fears him. He is also a basketball player who happens to be gay. He waited until he had retired from the NBA before he came out of the closet, or locker. In response to the Hardaway he said, "His words pollute the atmosphere. It creates an atmosphere that allows young gays and lesbians to be harassed in school, creates an atmosphere where in thirty-three states you can lose your job, and where anti-gay and lesbian issues are used for political gain. It's an atmosphere that hurts all of us, not just gay people." Tim may have had a higher points-per-game average, but it turns out that he loses out to Amaechi in the only statistic that really counts: humanity.