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Tim Hardaway Banished from NBA All-Star Weekend for "I Hate Gays" Comments

posted February 16, 2007 - 12:37am
Tim Hardaway Banished from NBA All-Star Weekend for "I Hate Gays" Comments

Going into its annual All-Star weekend in Las Vegas, the NBA was hoping to showcase dazzling plays, fan-friendly exhibitions, and community service.

Instead it's having to fend off a controversy after retired player Tim Hardaway said in a Miami interview, "I hate gays." According to a transcript of the interview on Dan Le Batard's show on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket, Hardaway responded to a question about how he would feel about having a gay teammate by saying, "'First of all I wouldn't want him on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, you know, I would really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that is right."

Hardaway played for the Miami Heat for six seasons and was a popular member of the team. He was an All-Star five times.

The issue of homosexuality in the NBA came up last week when former player John Amaechi announced that he was gay in advance of the publication of his memoir, "Man in the Middle."

At the end of the interview Le Batard says, "You know what you are saying there is flatly homophobic? It's bigotry?"

Hardaway then responded with his most controversial remarks: ''Well, 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. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States. So yeah, I don't like it.''

Hardaway subsequently apologized for his remarks, saying, "I am committed to examining my feelings and will recognize, appreciate, and respect the differences among people in our society."

NBA commissioner David Stern was quick to make clear that the league did not share Hardaway's views. Hardaway had already been in Las Vegas to make some public appearances on behalf of the league for the All-Star weekend.



Comments

Public image

Hardaway was making appearances as part of the all-star weekend, which I assume he was getting paid for. The NBA obviously thought he was an asset. Hardaway is presumably not going to get any more paying gigs like that, not anytime soon anyway. Whatever work he's doing now--endorsements, running a business, etc.-- may well be hurt by the statements he's made. Fan voting in sports all-star games is always a crap shoot, and the Internet only makes it easier to stuff the ballot box. I'd like to see a combination of input from fans, players, and coaches, and the press.

no... not really

dude, if you remember tim hardaway & his time in the nba, you know that he didn't CARE much about his public image. & i fail to see how a retired player who isn't bound for either coaching OR the hall of fame can damage his career. it's just distracting us all from the REAL outrage of this weekend. shaquille o'neal is STARTING having played only five games, while elton brand isn't THERE?? why the hell do the nba & nhl allow "fans" to vote the players onto the all-star teams? & why didn't rory fitzpatrick get his starting spot at the nhl all-star game? it's disgraceful! the fact that an athlete isn't comfortable with the idea of homosexuality is as old as athletics itself (well, except in ancient greece, maybe). we should REALLY be outraged about the fact that dirk nowitski is only on the floor because someone else got hurt (whaaa?) & that brand sits at home while mehmet okur (say) will play.

or maybe not...

Re: Tim Hardaway

Yeah, this is a real black eye for the league and it is turning attention away from its big event. You'd think someone who's been around as much as Hardaway would know that at the very least he's hurting his own image and career with his remarks.

It's not about making people feel bad

If Hardaway said he'd prefer not to have gay teammates, that's one thing. But to say you "hate" this or that type of person is another thing altogether. What if he said he hated white people, or Puerto Ricans, or Jews? I would agree with you that Hardaway is not the only player who shares his opinions, and I wouldn't be surprised if, like you say, he patches up his public image but doesn't change his views.

ah, america...

where you're free to believe whatever you want & where freedom of speech is absolute. unless what you say makes the wrong group of people feel bad. THEN, by god, you get into trouble. tim hardaway is an idiot, clearly, but he's an idiot who wouldn't want gay men in his team's locker room. & i'm sure he's not alone there. he doesn't like the concept of homosexulality, & i KNOW he's not alone there. he had the balls to acknowledge it when asked his opinion... & didn't offer the same namby-pamby bullshit so many others did. honesty kills in today's world. presumably, every sports facility will eventually have four separate changing facilities for men & women & gay & straight so that no one has to change with people they are convinced are "checking them out." or maybe, to save space, we could have straight men & gay women share a locker room, & gay men & straight women likewise. & just like michael richards of some weeks ago... now we have another american ex-someone (retired athletes are not unlike tv stars who's shows have long been seen only in syndication) whose publicists have written them up a quick crock o' bullshit. i guarantee that hardaway will learn nothing from this experience except (maybe) to keep his unpopular opinions to himself. in the new america... where the iron-fist control of freedom of speech has been usurped by the liberals & the right to believe what you want to believe is second to the herd ideology that if we pretend to be shocked & appalled ENOUGH, then the mean things that people say about each other will go away.

or maybe not...

Tim Hardaway

These is a very sad but important story. Mr. Hardaway will feel the effects of his ill-thought remarks for years to come. These remarks will be a distraction on what is a treasured event for many Basketball fans. And I would hope that NBA players would rather stand next to a gay than someone filled with hate.

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