Retired Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway got himself into some trouble yesterday after he told a radio station he hates gay people. The discussion was sparked because last week retired NBA center John Amaechi became the first NBA player to publicly announced he is gay.
Tim Hardaway has been making public appearances for the NBA since he retired in 2003. During an interview with a Miami-based radio station, 790 The Ticket, the host asked Hardaway how he would interact with a gay teammate.
"Well 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. "Yeah, I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world for that or in the United States for that. So, yeah, I don't like it.”
Hardaway went on to say if he found out a teammate was gay he would ask for the player to be removed from the team. "If you have 12 other ballplayers in your locker-room that's upset and can't concentrate and always worried about him in the locker-room or on the court or whatever, it's going to be hard for your teammates to win and accept him as a teammate," he said.
After the NBA heard what Tim Hardaway said, they removed him from any league-related appearances. Hardaway was in Las Vegas for this weekend’s All-Star game. NBA Commissioner David Stern made a statement saying, “It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours.”
Hardaway’s agent, Henry Thomas, read a statement from him stating, “I want to apologize for my comments yesterday regarding gays. My comments were offensive and I regret making them. I'm sorry to anyone I have offended."
He also apologized to Fox affiliate WSVN in Miami, Jim Berry, telling him, “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."
However, Tim Hardaway still feels homosexuality is wrong. He feels that many players feel the same way he does, but don’t make their views known to the public.
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