Hey, anybody heard about this one yet? It was a big story, and quickly, when Tim Hardaway (above, left) uncorked a bottle of cask-aged, finely mellowed 12-year old ignorance on Dan Le Batard’s “The Ticket” radio show while weighing in on L’Affaire Meech, but if you hadn’t read it yet, it goes a little something like:
“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…First of all, I wouldn’t want (a gay player) 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 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.”
Ah, that’s good stuff. “Bludgeoned home,” in the words of Pete Segall. And dig the angry, basketball-squeezin’ picture of Timmy from that Miami Herald article. Not the sort of guy you’d want to meet in a dark alley/ever discuss anything with, ever. The article linked to above has the requisite classy quote from John Amaechi and another from Doc Rivers, but the real deal on Hardaway’s take on Meech comes from Joey over at Straight Bangin’, who breaks Teem’s comments on down:
– “You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known.”
Why?
Hate?
Really?
And, what the fuck is “let it be known”? Who was even waiting? Is that some kind of a policy statement that you issue upon entering a room, meeting new people, and serving on a jury? Is it on your business card? Should it go in your obituary–“Hardaway, who never won shit and won’t be in the Hall of Fame, hated gay people.”
– “I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it.”
How do you think Hardaway would feel if someone said, “I don’t like black people and I don’t like to be around black people. I am a racist. I don’t like them”?– “And you know 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.”
This whole “I wouldn’t want a gay man looking at me” routine is amazingly offensive, asinine, and arrogant. It’s not like a gay person is on the prowl after every game hopelessly enslaved by an insatiable sexual appetite. If we’ve learned anything from pro sports, it’s that many of the straight guys seem to struggle with that problem, and the responsibility that comes with it. And, no gay player is there as a diplomatic emissary–he’s not trying to recruit, or on some kind of a predatory sex mission. He just played ball and wants to shower then leave, just like everyone else. Plus, who says Tim Hardaway is anything to look at to begin with? If any NBA dudes were hoping to fraternize at the workplace, I’m sure that a man who won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award in college for being so good while just six feet or less would probably be deemed to be too short.
That headline is perfect. Kudos.
The CBA has also taken a stand against Tim Hardaway’s comments – http://www.cbahoopsonline.com/news.php?read=878 and http://www.cbahoopsonline.com/news.php?read=879. Yes, the CBA is alive and well, and will probably outlast Isiah Thomas’ Knicks coaching career.
This whole John Amaechi thing is the biggest non-story in sports, both from his and Tim Hardaway’s side. You’re right in saying that nobody cares what Tim Hardaway thinks about gay people, but at least he managed to stay in the NBA for more than four years.
I think I can speak for most sports fans when I say that I wouldn’t give a shit if John Amaechi screwed a beluga whale, much less other dudes. The only reason this is a story at all is because Amaechi’s book is published by ESPN books, so it benefits them greatly to shove this story down our throats like we were so many anonymous participants in a public park restroom orgy.
If I cared about crap like this I would be watching Oprah instead of Cold Pizza. In fact, I’m now so sick of it that I would rather see this coverage replaced by more stories about the consequences of the NASCAR cheating scandal. At least that has to do with an actual competition of some sort. The only contest Amaechi will win at this point is the most money made by an irrelevant NBA never-was off of narcissistic gay people that think that homosexuality is the single most important issue in the modern world.
Boethius,
yeah, doesn’t it really suck when trivial matters like discrimination & hatred get in the way of really important stuff like…uh….what were we talking about?
I will agree, however, that real life matters have no place on “Cold Pizza”. Neither do sports, however.
Why we watch Cold Pizza, I think.
GC,
Except for the Tim Hardaway angle, this story has nothing to do with hatred and discrimination. Pretty much everyone else in the world of sports is completely fine with the idea of a gay player in a major sports league, at least if their public comments and universal upbraiding of Hardaway can be trusted. John Amaechi is not the Jackie Robinson of gay athletes, he’s a washed-up hack that’s using his supposedly controversial sexual orientation to sell books.
Maybe I’m different than other fans, but I’m not shocked or secretly aroused by the completely obvious affirmation that there are gay athletes in pro sports. The only way I will ever care about any aspect of an athlete’s personal life, sexual or otherwise, would be if the person was actually relevant to their sport. John Amaechi’s game sucked too bad to get him any attention or money, so now he’s falling back on his gayness. The only people that care about this are gay people who want to pretend to be martyrs because they can’t get legally married and fundamentalist yokels who think that Leave it to Beaver was an accurate representation of an ideal past.
I mean come on! There are only fifty hours of Cold Pizza a week, and I think that precious time should be reserved for important things like dissecting the minutia of the Minnesota Vikings’ off-season moves and reliving every glorious three-pointer thrown up by the autistic kid in that one high school basketball game.
“Except for the Tim Hardaway angle, this story has nothing to do with hatred and discrimination.”
except in this instance, we’re actually discussing the Tim Hardaway angle. And if this has nothing to do with hatred and discrimination, why is Amaechi the only baller willing to come out?
So Amaechi wasn’t a superstar. That doesn’t make his story any less compelling or the dilemma of the gay athlete trying to get by in the world of top flight sports any less interesting.
I’ve yet to read Amaechi’s book (though I certain intend to) but I really think this has less to do with shock or arousing anyone and it’s mostly about provoking public discussion…and maybe creating an environment where the next player to come out — superstar or scrub — has a slightly easier time of it.
As far as this “falling back on his gayness” bullshit is concerned, dude, how much money do you really think Amaechi is making? Trust me, other than your best selling authors, there’s not a ton of money in writing books. If there were, Will Leitch would dress a lot better.
At the risk of sounding way too sympathetic towards all those “gay people who want to be martyrs”, Hardaway’s comments clearly illustrated that this IS a very big deal. Timmy might’ve been the only guy stupid enough to say such things into an open microphone, but I sincerely doubt he’s the only person (player, broadcaster, coach, team owner, fan, blogger) who harbors such feelings towards homosexuals.
I don’t wanna have a back and forth woah with you about this — Cold Pizza isn’t gonna watch itself, after all. But I think this case is totally relevant to the sport if you believe basketball has anything to do with society as a whole. Which I do. I find nothing sleazy nor sensational about the way Amaechi is presenting this. If he’s not the gay Jackie Robinson, that’s only because we live in a culture where a more prominent athlete doesn’t dare risk taking on said role.
Whether or not you find that troubling, is of course, up to you.
Trust me, other than your best selling authors, there’s not a ton of money in writing books.
————
Truer words were never spoken. I know few friends with book deals more than they could make at a good office job. Generally they’re written to put across a POV.
Don
Well, I’ll agree to let this matter rest, because things aren’t perfect for gay people, athlete or otherwise. But I will say that this is not going to be a ground-breaker in the same way that it didn’t open the door for actors to freely express their sexual preference when the kid from Who’s the Boss came out of the closet. And let’s face it, a lot more people were familiar with his acting career than with John Amaechi’s NBA career.
In other words, if Sheryl Swoopes came out in a forest and no one was there to hear it, did it really make a sound?
indeed, we’re gonna have to agree to disagree, because I think Amaechi has most assuredly broken ground. Name one other NBA player, past or present, who has come out? That the no. 1 topic heading into All-Star weekend is not the trade deadline fate of Pau Gasol or Vince Carter, nor Vegas’ hopes for an NBA franchise, but is instead the nature of homophobia in the locker room, says to me that Amaechi has done the league a huge service, even if they don’t wanna say thanks.
Perhaps Amaechi’s announcement isn’t enough to convince Superstar X to come out (and with comments like Hardaway’s, who could blame him?) But if there’s even just one person — baller or not — who feels less alone in hearing Amaechi’s story, I think the entire exercise was worth it.
the autistic kid tossing up three pointers (and meeting dubya).
the feel good story of the year ?