Professional athletes often are stereotyped as being boorish, macho brutes. Tim Hardaway’s comments yesterday only reinforce the stereotype.
Asked during an interview on a Miami radio station how he might have dealth with a gay teammate, the former star guard with the Warriors and Heat offered bigoted rant:
“You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known,” Hardaway said. “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.”
The question of playing with a gay teammate has come up quite a bit lately — with too many athletes showing their homophobic stripes — because of the release of John Amaechi’s memoir, “Man in the Middle,” in which he comes out of the closet. Amaechi played five years in the NBA after playing at Penn. State.
And the responses have been varied. Grant Hill, for instance, told ESPN last week that Amaechi should be applauded — a comment that got very little attention.
“The fact that John has done this, maybe it will give others the comfort or confidence to come out as well, whether they are playing or retiring,” Hill said.
Tracy McGrady and Isaiah Thomas also offered enlightened comments
“I can’t speak for somebody else’s locker room, but if it’s mine, we won’t have a problem,” Thomas said at the Knicks’ practice facility in Greenburgh. “I don’t know (if the NBA is ready for an openly-gay player). But I know this league is not about discrimination. I do know that.”
And yet, it is Hardaway’s big mouth that is getting all the press.
Athletes are not the monolithic bunch of neanderthals too many fans and commentators expect them to be (watch a sports broadcast featuring Len Elmore or Ron Darling). Many are intelligent, open-minded and politically committed (Steve Nash, Adonal Foyle, Etan Thomas, Carlos Delgado). Too bad we almost never hear about them.
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Hank Kalet 