American Bigot
Published February 15th, 2007I didn’t want to write about this. Really. It’s too easy. It’s obvious. It’s piling on. But I also realized that many of you in my “known” readership pool haven’t really ever followed sports. And I have. So I figured I might help out a little with context - not that many of you who are as offended and angry and sad about this as I am really need it.
Tim Hardaway ended his public career last night. But let’s back up a moment.
A few days ago, a man, a former basketball player, named John Amaechi came out as a homosexual. He is probably the most prominent male athlete, so far, to come out. He wasn’t really a big star, more of an average journeyman. He had a little career, it was nice, and he’s moved on.
The male athlete population is stereotypically more homophobic than the general population. The “jocks” are all threatened by gay men, the thinking goes. It’s changing though. But not fast enough, and some guys are still just as bigoted as can be. Apparently, Tim Hardaway is one of those bigots.
For those of you who don’t know, Tim Hardaway was a very popular player in the NBA. Very popular. He was part of a famous trio when he played for the Golden State Warriors - they had the nickname of Run TMC (the players Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin). Tim was a cornerstone of the Warriors team. The 2nd half of his career he spent with the Miami Heat, putting up solid veteran numbers. He became the face of the young franchise. He was well respected around the league as a “good guy” - and many, many sportscasters have said the same of him. Sportscasters I trust have said he was always really nice. Tim Hardaway was a 5 time All-Star. He is 12th all time in assists. Basketball-Reference.com has him listed as the 78th best player of all time, with a 66% chance of making the Hall of Fame. The guy is no slouch. After retiring, he has made plenty of public appearances on behalf of the NBA and the Miami Heat. He is no stranger to the spotlight or media attention. Which made his comments last night about John Amaechi, and gays in general, so unbelievable. He also said them at the very end of a radio interview, when the host just throws something out there looking for a quick reaction from a guy - just his 2 cents. Hardaway gave him about $100 worth. He said:
“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’m 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 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.”
Good lord man. The radio host tried to throw him a rope, telling him that was a pretty bigoted thing to say - Tim promptly took that rope and hanged himself further. He basically said he was a bigot, he was a homophobe, and he didn’t care. “I let it be known,” he said.
You sure did Tim. You sure did - let it be known we heard you - and you are a jackass. The NBA almost instantly dropped him from any more public appearances. This guy has become a sports untouchable. He did issue a statement today - I refuse to call it an apology:
“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.”
Uh….Tim, it’s not that you shouldn’t have said it. Say it all you want. But you shouldn’t be thinking it. For a variety of reasons. Tim’s homophobia though is not uncommon. I’m sure many people - too many - agree with him, silently or not. And it’s a shame. It’s wrong.
Gay people are people, just like anyone else. They deserve the same respect anyone else gets. Tim Hardaway, an African-American, should understand what it is like to be hated for something that you can’t change and isn’t wrong to begin with. White athletes said basically the same thing about black athletes 60 years ago. About men like Tim Hardaway. Can he not see the parallel? I don’t believe the man is an idiot - but clearly there is something shorted out up there. Since this is the written word, the absolute conviction in Tim’s voice is something that doesn’t come across here. This guy meant what he said. It wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It wasn’t misconstruable. It just IS.
Some of you might believe that gay people choose to be gay. Let’s think about this for a second - why on earth would anyone choose to be persecuted, hated, reviled and discriminated against? Why? Is there any good reason? Please, tell me. Gay people are born that way. They feel what they feel, and it is real and unchoosable. They can no more be attracted to the opposite sex than a heterosexual person can be attracted to the same sex. It’s not a conscious thing!
I personally don’t know what I’d do if I had to live my life with people telling me that my attraction to women was evil, unnatural, sick and filthy. I really don’t. It would be awful. And it would be even worse if I was told that I was just choosing to be that way. Because I sure as hell didn’t choose to be heterosexual. I just am. Nor did I choose to have thinning hair, deformed and brown eyes or an unusual affection for puns. I just am that way.
For those of you who say “But the bible says” - sorry, this isn’t a religious issue. Your argument holds no weight. And the church v. state (probably my #1 blood boiling issue) argument is one for another post, I promise you. For those of you who say “they’re taking over, its wrong, it will be the end of society” - spare me. They’re not taking over anything, they’ve never displaced any of your rights (they just want equal rights, and I’m with them on that), and they’ve been around as long as heterosexuals have. There are no monolithic societies that have lasted forever because they didn’t have gay people in them. And there are no societies in all of history that have failed because they did have gay people in them.
And yet, the hatred in this country is still rampant and festering. The only solace I have right now, in the face of such vitriol from Tim Hardaway, is that things are changing. Not fast enough for some (and I recognize that). But I take solace in that every time some jackass public figure makes comments like Tim’s, the backlash and the uproar just gets louder. And I laugh because I know that one day, in my lifetime, gay marriage will be legal in more places than it isn’t. To the homophobes - accept it. It’s coming. Just like blacks were given their freedom, women were given the right to vote, mixed-race couples (a misnomer really, we’re all humans, and the sooner we remember that the better) were allowed to marry, one day gay people will get the rights they are owed by The Constitution. I know it. Because an America that discriminates against people is a weaker America, a hypocritical America. And to those of you who think they’re getting special rights - they’re not. They are owed equal rights. Just try and find any case where they have an advantage over a white male heterosexual. Try it.
I didn’t want to post about this. I knew I would get long winded. I doubt I’ve even been able to say all that I wanted to - my train of thought runs faster than my donkey-cart of typing. Suffice it to say - Tim Hardaway is a jackass. But let him speak his mind. Let all homophobes speak their mind so that their intolerance will be drowned out by the voices of reason and fairness, just like any other hate organization (the KKK. Skinheads. Nation of Islam. And many, many more) Straight people, gay people, black people, white people, blind people - they are ALL JUST PEOPLE. And the government has guaranteed equal rights for all people in America. We need to keep moving towards that goal, sooner than later. We are only as free as our most oppressed citizen.
Have a nice day people. Odds are, you’re having a better one than Tim Hardaway.
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