(no subject)

[fredericks]

Former NBA player John Amaechi publicly outted himself a couple of days back, and the media picked up the story like it was government cheese. To my recollection Amaechi was more well-known for his international player status than for anything he did on the court and I was sort of "meh, okay" on the news, but I was curious as to what players would think. Then I caught Tim Hardaway's little diatribe on SportsCenter yesterday morning (or was it this morning?) My response to that? Thank God. Not "thank God, let's be an asswipe" but thank God he's being straightforward. Don't sugarcoat the hate or hide it; it makes it much easier to know who to avoid and who to write off as a dickwad. I'm with Amaechi's response all the way.

Comments

[xioley.livejournal.com]

Nevermind; I should read links first. I was confused at first by your post. I'm still a little confused by some people's reactions to Hardaway. People's reactions to Mel Gibson's anti-semitism and Michael Richards's racist comments seems more straight-forward. In my mind, hate is hate. But admitting some level of ignorance *can* be good, so long is it's recognized as ignorance on some level. Hardaway needs to get over himself--he's not even that hot.

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

Hardaway needs to get over himself--he's not even that hot.
Is it wrong that I laughed for a good half-minute over that line? *grin*

The difference between Hardaway's comments and Gibson's or Richard's comments is our nation's stance on homosexuality and the way the issue is tied up with religious belief. With laws that make it illegal to have relations with someone of the same sex in many states and that deny same-sex couples adoptive rights, having someone come out and blatantly say he's homophobic (and if you can I'd suggest you listen to Hardaway's interview; the man pulled no punches and there's enough hatred in his statement to make you lose your appetite) is like "yeah, you and half the nation" IMO. It's much more okay to hate gays than it is to hate blacks or people of Jewish descent. Wrong? I think so, very much.