Former Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway said on a radio show Wednesday afternoon that he would not want a gay player on his team. Hardaway was a guest of Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard on Miami sports radio station WAXY-AM and was asked how he would deal with a gay teammate. When asked if he would accept an active player's coming out, such as that of retired NBA center John Amaechi, Hardaway replied: "First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team." As we all know, it got *ahem* better from there. But apparently, he's sorry. He's so sorry, he apologized.
"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." So...um... you should have just kept your mouth shut and gone on hating without mentioning it?
While I cannot at this moment find the quote I'm looking for, Amaechi made a great comment about how men who stand up for women's rights are seen as being supportive, white men who stand up for black rights are seen as heros ~ and straight men who stand up for homosexual rights are seen as being wimps and are probably really gay themselves. I wish it wasn't so true. And I wish that more straight men wouldn't give a damn if they were seen as being wimps and probably gay for supporting homosexual rights.
Here's another quote from the whole situation from Pat Riley: "But I do know that Tim's a good spirit, and I'm sure now he wished he could take all of that back," Riley added, the newspaper reported. "And I hope he's not severely judged by his spewing of some of those words. That kind of thinking can't be tolerated. It just can't." Um...he's not supposed to be severely judged and yet that kind of thinking can't be tolerated. So...hmmm... I got nothing here.
But how is this for grace? Amaechi also said: "Finally, someone who is honest," he said. "It is ridiculous, absurd, petty, bigoted and shows a lack of empathy that is gargantuan and unfathomable. But it is honest. And it illustrates the problem better than any of the fuzzy language other people have used so far."
He's a better person than I will ever be.
Valentine's Day and all that coming soon. I had to say this first.
Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.
10 comments:
This is now my seventh attempt to comment on this post.....
I just can't do it!
I love you,
DON~
I think it's more than simply gay rights, black rights, women's rights....it's a human rights issue.
If more people would stop dwelling on the things that make us different and start focusing on the things that bring us together as people, the world would be a much more peaceful place. We are all part of a bigger picture, but many choose to limit there vision to only those things related to there immediate vision.
It's the same concept you had with the Oscars. If you are a good man who happens to be gay, you are automatically a good gay man. It should be less about being a good sub-something and more about being just a good human being. A good, successful man or woman should be considered a role model for everyone, not just those who are most like them. A successful African American man will automatically be a good role model for his community, yes, but he's also a good role model for anyone who aspires to be a decent, successful human being in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, we still dwell on what divides us and not what brings us together.
It's only at that point will we be able to say that we "get it."
Just my opinion.
He was definitely wrong, and in my opinion so is his apology. How can you apologize for something that you really feel and believe?
Again I will say if everyone would get it we are "One Race the Human Race" we would be a safe and happier world.
Yay, Pobble! I love your pointing out the semantics on his apology. His "I shouldn't have said how I felt" is as much an apology as "I'm sorry...that you feel that way."
I'm sick to death of "upper echelon" there-there-ing us and asking us not to judge. "Please. Do not think for yourselves about how you feel about what you just heard or saw with your own eyes. Wait until we tell you what you think." It maddens me.
Amaechi's response is amazing, and powerful. An angry or petty response (though justifiable) would have just turned this into a Jerry Springer conflict. Yay for him.
I literally had my mouth hanging open when I was listening to Hardaway's rant on Sportscenter. The awful thing was that the radio host kept trying to give him a chance to say that he was joking or back-track or something, and Hardaway wouldn't take the bait - he just buried himself further in the sand. Pitiful.
People need to quit with this bias, bigotry and then apologize mess. If they have these bias, just keep their big mouths closed.
charles barkley was being interviewed about all of this right amaechi came out. when asked how he felt he said something like, "i know i've played with gay players before. why should it bother me and why should i care if they are gay or not?"
i loved how he put it (and i'm not quoting him right, but...) it was like: what's the big deal, get over it, it's normal.
and it was even better that it came from someone so "outspoken" like barkley (whose name i'm sure i'm not spelling correctly.)
I kinda liked what George Takei had to say about the incident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA20dKc3kK8
Ahhh, I just returned to put the Takei video on, but nemeria beat me to it! It's hilarious.
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