February 18, 2007 6:54 AM

Another DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener

NBA Chief On Player’s Anti-Gay Remarks: “It’s Not So Shocking, Really”

Tim Hardaway says he hates ‘gay people’

Gay Hater Admonished On Proper Gay-Hating Techniques

Why’s He Gotta Go Making Life Hard for Bigots?

Hardaway Banished for Anti-Gay Tirade

DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener #536: Tim Hardaway

MIAMI — Retired Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway said Wednesday that he hates gay people, but later said he regretted the remarks….”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,” he said while a guest on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket. “I’m homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”….The discussion was sparked by last week’s announcement that retired NBA center John Amaechi is gay.

Wow. When I first heard this story last week, my first thought was, “Wow…. How could a public figure like Hardaway be so phenomenally stupid, so intellectually vacant as to think that these words wouldn’t create a s—tstorm in the media?” Sho’nuff…Tim Hardaway has succeeded in making himself persona non grata with virtually every sentient being fortunate enough to walk upright.

Hardaway’s ugly, hateful words represent quite possibly the single most ignorant, misanthropic opinion I’ve ever heard a human being utter. Truly, I stand in awe of anyone who would open his mouth and let the hate flow as Hardaway did. Either he wants America to recognize that he’s his own man and he compromises his views for no one, or he’s one of the most phenomenally intellectually challenged DUMB@$$E$ ever to drag his knuckles across this Earth.

Personally, I’m going with option #2.

Here’s what I really want to know, however: why is it that when an athlete comes out of the closet, the first thing other athletes opine about is having a gay teammate in the shower with them? Jeebus, people; can we get past this sub-primal fear? This isn’t prison we’re talking about here; no one’s going to be forcibly buggering you in the shower after practices or games. What we have here is a collection of scared men giving voice to their own fears and prejudices, which tells me that Tim Hardaway is hardly alone in his opinions; he was just stupid enough to articulate them on a radio show.

I applaud NBA Commissioner David Stern for having the cojones and the decency to distance the league from Hardaway. While Stern may be corporate from the tips of his silver mane to the soles of his wing-tipped feet, he recognizes that hate does nothing to advance the interests of the NBA in particular, nor of humanity in general.

The NBA banished Tim Hardaway from All-Star weekend in Las Vegas because of his anti-gay remarks. Hardaway, who played in five All-Star games during the 1990s, was already in Las Vegas to make a series of public appearances this week on behalf of the league. But after saying, “I hate gay people” during a radio interview, commissioner David Stern stepped in.

“We removed him from representing us because we didn’t think his comments were consistent with having anything to do with us,” Stern told reporters Thursday at the opening of a fan festival at a Las Vegas casino, part of the NBA’s All-Star weekend….

While Stern said a discussion about openly gay players could be part of future rookie orientation programs, he doesn’t see a need to address the league.

“This is an issue overall that has fascinated America. It’s not an NBA issue,” Stern said, pointing to the ongoing debate over gay marriage at the state and federal levels.

“This is a country that needs to talk about this issue,” he said. “And, not surprisingly, they use sports as a catalyst to begin the dialogue.”….

“His views are not consistent with ours,” Stern said.

Of course, Hardaway has, in true DUMB@$$ fashion, apologized, but to say the damage has been done would be something of an understatement. The horses have already left the barn; it’s a bit late to be closing the barn door, eh??

“As an African-American, I know all too well the negative thoughts and feelings hatred and bigotry cause,” Hardaway said Thursday in a statement issued by his agent. “I regret and apologize for the statements that I made that have certainly caused the same kinds of feelings and reactions.

“I especially apologize to my fans, friends and family in Miami and Chicago. I am committed to examining my feelings and will recognize, appreciate and respect the differences among people in our society,” he said. “I regret any embarrassment I have caused the league on the eve of one of their greatest annual events.”

This just in: Tim Hardaway’s going to rehab in 4…3…2…1…. Maybe he can have Isaiah Washington’s old room.

I have nothing against Hardaway holding whatever opinions he deems appropriate. This is, after all, still a free country, and Hardaway has the right to think, feel, and believe as he sees fits. What he does NOT have the right to do, however, is to foster an environment that encourages hatred of a group or individual simply because of who they are and/or the lifestyle they’ve freely chosen to live.

Hardaway is free to hate homosexuality and homosexuals if he so chooses. He can’t claim to be surprised when the airing of that hatred gets him slapped down in a New York minute. If Hardaway’s going to espouse virulent ignorance and hatred, he can’t claim to be surprised when the NBA disassociates itself from him.

Words having meaning, and once they’ve been released into the ether, no amount of apologinzing or mea culpas will change that. Tim Hardaway has been in the public eye long enough to understand what the media is all about, and he had to know that the sentiments he expressed would forever label him as a bigot and a DUMB@$$…and deservedly so. Sombody’s got some ‘splainin’ to do….

People like Tim Hardaway make me think that perhaps I should retire the DUMB@$$ AWARDS. How, I find myself thinking, can anyone possibly top this sort of ignorance and intellectual vacancy? I’m saddened that, here in the 21st century, there are still hateful, ignorant, knuckle-dragging troglodytes out there like Tim Hardaway, people who think that venting their bile in the media will convince people of the righteousness of their cause. All it really does is demonstrate that the DUMB@$$E$ will always be among us.

Stay tuned….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 18, 2007 6:54 AM.

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