Post by John on Feb 15, 2007 15:42:11 GMT -4
From FOXSports.Com... This is funny, the national media is painting this like Hardaway apoligized... But it reads more like he's apologizing for saying it, not that he didn't mean it...
One week after retired NBA player John Amaechi publically identified himself as gay, retired Heat guard Tim Hardaway said on a Miami radio show that he would not want to play with a gay man.
"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said Wednesday, according to a transcript on the Miami Herald Web site. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."
Hardaway was a guest on the show and was asked at the end of the interview how he would handle having a gay teammate.
''First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team,'' Hardaway answered. "And second of all, if he was on my team, I would really distance myself from him because 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. But stuff like that is going on and there's a lot of other people I hear that are like that and still in the closet and don't want to come out of the closet, but you know I just leave that alone.''
Hardaway doesn't think he's alone in that view, either.
''Something has to give,'' he said. "And I think the majority of players would ask for him to be traded or they would want to be traded...If you have 12 other ballplayers in your locker room that are upset and can't concentrate and always worried about him in the locker room or on the court it's going to be hard for your teammates to win and accept him as a teammate.''
He 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."
Writers and NBA personalities, including Heat center Shaquille O'Neal and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, have widely praised Amaechi's revelation.
But Amaechi himself said he was overwhelmed by the attention he's received and still believes homophobia is rampant in and out of sports.
''We are much further behind than I'd like,'' Amaechi said, according to the Herald. "People in America and England would like to think racism is over, sexism is over, and homophobia is over, but it's not. My coming out will show that gay people don't all look like Jack from Will and Grace. Some of us are big, athletic men, and that should be OK.''
Amaechi also said he had not heard from a single former teammate or NBA player, but had been contacted by Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. He also urged heterosexual players to support the cause.
"It's hard to get straight guys to step up," he said. "When men stood by women during the suffrage movement, they were called progressive and bold. When whites stood by blacks, they were heroes. But a straight guy standing up for a gay guy faces discrimination, and that's a big part of the battle we're fighting."
One week after retired NBA player John Amaechi publically identified himself as gay, retired Heat guard Tim Hardaway said on a Miami radio show that he would not want to play with a gay man.
"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said Wednesday, according to a transcript on the Miami Herald Web site. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."
Hardaway was a guest on the show and was asked at the end of the interview how he would handle having a gay teammate.
''First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team,'' Hardaway answered. "And second of all, if he was on my team, I would really distance myself from him because 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. But stuff like that is going on and there's a lot of other people I hear that are like that and still in the closet and don't want to come out of the closet, but you know I just leave that alone.''
Hardaway doesn't think he's alone in that view, either.
''Something has to give,'' he said. "And I think the majority of players would ask for him to be traded or they would want to be traded...If you have 12 other ballplayers in your locker room that are upset and can't concentrate and always worried about him in the locker room or on the court it's going to be hard for your teammates to win and accept him as a teammate.''
He 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."
Writers and NBA personalities, including Heat center Shaquille O'Neal and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, have widely praised Amaechi's revelation.
But Amaechi himself said he was overwhelmed by the attention he's received and still believes homophobia is rampant in and out of sports.
''We are much further behind than I'd like,'' Amaechi said, according to the Herald. "People in America and England would like to think racism is over, sexism is over, and homophobia is over, but it's not. My coming out will show that gay people don't all look like Jack from Will and Grace. Some of us are big, athletic men, and that should be OK.''
Amaechi also said he had not heard from a single former teammate or NBA player, but had been contacted by Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. He also urged heterosexual players to support the cause.
"It's hard to get straight guys to step up," he said. "When men stood by women during the suffrage movement, they were called progressive and bold. When whites stood by blacks, they were heroes. But a straight guy standing up for a gay guy faces discrimination, and that's a big part of the battle we're fighting."